Angel
by Lilliana1981
Summary: A little treasure chest is able to turn the whole life of our favorite Cook and Marimo upside- down! Will change into M in later chapters... Will lead into SanZo, no matter what is standing inside the Chapters.
1. Prologue

Still not own One Piece, still not making money with this! YESSSSSSSSS!!! Beta readed!

A big THANKS to my wonderful Beta- reader Princess Darkcloud, who is able to make a good story even better!

Hope you like it!

Warnings: Yaoi, language

Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Please review and be gentle! Reviews are welcome! Thx!

**Hi! This is a story I thought very long about. I wasn´t sure whether to upload or not, because, well… You´ll see, it's a little bit strange and different from my other stories.**

**I hope you will like it nevertheless!**

**Have fun!**

**Prologue**

"MARIMO!!!!" the blond cook of the Thousand Sunny yelled. He stomped out of his kitchen over to the green haired man sleeping against the mast of the ship. Standing in front of the man, he lifted up his left leg and kicked him hard in his face.

Zoro woke up, tilting his head back with a nosebleed. As his vision cleared, he looked up at the cook, hatred and anger burning in his eyes.

"What was that for, shit-cook?" He yelled back as he quickly jumped up to his feet.

Both men were now standing in front of each other, faces just a few centimeters away.

"Where's the good Sake I bought one week ago in the village, huh? It was very expensive and only reserved for the Ladies!" Sanji hissed.

Zoro smirked. "Well, you're right, shithead! It was really good." He grinned darkly.

"No! Not AGAIN! Can't you just steal some of the cheap booze, asshole??" Sanji shouted loudly into the other man's face.

Zoro leaned back, the little finger of his right hand in his right ear, looking at everything but the blonde in front of him.

"Nope!"

The blonde snapped: his face got red in anger, he stiffened his body, and leapt at the Marimo with his left leg extended before him. The swordsman blocked the attack with his arms crossed before his chest and pushed the cook back. The cook flew some meters away, landing safely on his feet.

"Ok, you asked for it!" Zoro whispered darkly as he unsheathed his swords.

"**_I _**asked for it!? Who stole the good Sake!?" Sanji asked in total confusion.

"If you would give it to me voluntarily I wouldn't need to steal it!"

The blonde gasped; he had rarely seen such impudence in his life…

"Oh well, here they go again!" Nami said quietly as she walked across the deck.

Sanji and Zoro were already a cloud of fighting bitches. Nami had never seen two people so stubborn and stupid, so dissimilar but still so equal in their personality and their way of life. And she had also never seen two guys who were not able to live together, but were still unable to live WITHOUT each other. They were so annoying! In the last three days she had been running a light headache and these two guys weren't helping her get over it!

They had actually found a treasure map at a market in a weird and old looking village. An old woman practically jumped on Sanji and Zoro in effort to get rid of it. She said it would lead them to the biggest treasure in the whole world, a treasure you were not able to balance out with gold. The treasure the old crow meant would be, for some people, even more valuable than the famous treasure 'ONE PIECE.' And so Nami had just seen Berries and nothing more until they were in the cavern, just to find a big, old, and ratty coffer cast out of steel— or something even harder— that they didn't have the key to.

Franky and Usopp were now trying to open the coffer; Robin hadn't been outside for about three days, trying to translate the old inscriptions on the artifact. Another loud cry from the blonde cook set her head on fire, also fueling her anger. That was enough!

Actually, Sanji had two of his hands and his right foot on Zoro's swords, which were crossed in front of his chest in defense. Both men were pressing into one another, yelling and cursing and swearing and spitting in each other's faces.

Nami took the Clima Tact Usopp had made for her out from behind her back, stomped over to the two idiots, and knocked them both square in the head. Now they were leaning against one another, back-to-back and unconscious with bleeding noses; both were now sporting a big bump on their heads.

Nami walked away to join Robin below deck with a grave look in her eyes while talking to the other _conscious_ idiots behind her. "I've got a headache… So could you PLEASE be so kind as to be not too noisy?"

A loud shout of "OK, got it!" came from both men behind her back… Sometimes Nami could be really scary!!!

XXX

"So, what do the inscriptions say, Robin?" Nami asked the raven-haired woman in front of her. Robin sat at the desk in her beloved bibliotheca, surrounded by piles of books, old rolls of paper, and notes.

"Well, actually I think it says something like:

_'Remember._

_Always._

_Love and Hate go hand in hand._

_No Love without Hate._

_Remember._

_What will to be chosen?_

_Love or Hate._

_Light or Darkness._

_Remember.´_"

Nami looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"What???" the one and only semi-intelligent thing she was able to say.

"I couldn't tell you. I—"

A loud explosion from below deck caused both of them to jump up in surprise.

"W-What was that?!?" Nami yelled in fear.

"Are we being attacked?" she looked at the surprised archeologist. Both made a serious face, nodded, and ran out the bibliotheca and up the stairs.

The whole crew but Usopp and Franky were out on deck.

"What was that, Nami? Are we being attacked?" their Captain asked confused, unknowingly repeating Nami's words. He looked around with a slightly insane grin on his face; he loved to fight. Zoro stood there, his swords unsheathed, scanning the area, back to back with Sanji.

´_Well, now they are able to get along with each other…´ _Nami thought, rolling her eyes.

Chopper stood behind Luffy, attaching himself onto the rubber legs of his Captain, light trembling.

Then, suddenly, the door from under deck slammed open. Franky and Usopp stepping outside, coughing little clouds, both of them surrounded by a cloud of thick, black smoke.

"We— cough— we got it— cough— YAY!!!" Usopp shouted. "We were finally able to open it!!!"

"ARE YOU ILL OR SOMETHING???" Nami screamed at them, teeth like a shark, and death in her eyes. "Are you planning to destroy the whole ship?!?"

"The ship can't be destroyed by such a little rumble, sis!" Franky answered.

Oops, one word too many, though just one sentence had been spoken…

Nami's headache had increased into real pain caused by the loud explosion and the whole situation. She walked over to Franky ever so slowly, death still in her eyes… Franky stepped back, lifting his hands up.

"Don't do anything you'll regret later, sis…" he said.

"Oh- **_I_** won't…" Then she caught a glimpse of Usopp, who was standing beside Franky. He actually held a little chest in his trembling hands. Nami stopped, staring at the chest.

It was almost about 30 cm long on both sides and 10 cm high. It was made from metal— gold and silver— and depicted angels and demons fighting against a black, not-easy-to-be-seen enemy that was surrounding them.

She started to walk in Usopp's direction. Usopp started to tremble even more, sweat on his forehead. He swallowed hard at the look the Navigator was giving the chest. This was too much! He screamed out in horror, as Nami was just about 2 meters away, throwing the little chest up into the air. He turned around on his tiptoes and fled below deck just to look out the door between him and Nami.

She REALLY could be very scary sometimes.

Nami caught the little chest in mid-air. Surrounded by the crew, she looked at it with interest. Turning it to every side she scanned the little chest systematically. With a light scent of Berries in her eyes she gave it to Robin.

"What do you think?"

Robin also scanned it systematically. She saw all the little figures and the scenes of the fight on the chest. Upon the top of the chest were more writings, done in a language she didn't actually know. She could only say that they had to have been very old.

"Hmm… I don't recognize the language, but maybe I can translate some of the words; some of the letters are familiar to me. It has to be very old, about 1,000 years or so, I think…"

"So it could be very valuable?" Nami asked with Berri symbols growing larger in her eyes.

"Maybe…" Robin answered. "But I have to look at it more closely and that will take some time."

That was everything Nami wanted to hear. Spinning around surrounded by Berri symbols, she hit the ground, drooling out of the right corner of her mouth.

"Oi, Nami-swaaaaan~" the cook yelled, leaping over to her to help her up and to stand properly.

Slightly unsteady on her legs, she thanked Sanji-kun, turning to Robin.

"The next, bigger island is about one week away. You can use this time to do with it what you want, except for giving it to these idiots or destroying it."

"Thank you." Robin gave a slight bow in Nami's direction and walked away.

This could become very interesting…

**To be continued…**


	2. Angel

Still not own One Piece, still not making money with this! Beta readed by Princess Darkcloud. Hope you like it!

Warnings: Yaoi, language

Pairing: ZoSan

Please review and be gentle! Reviews are welcome! Thx!

**Well, this is the second chapter of "Angel". Even if the whole story is a little bit odd, I hope you will like it and keep on reading! I only life for reviews!**

**Actually, like I said it's a little bit odd, so please tell me, if you want me to continue with he story or if you want me to stop!**

**I think next chapter will be named "Month one"**

**Please be gentle!**

**Angel**

One week later, they arrived at the next, bigger island. Nami went down into the bibliotheca where Robin still sat, working on the translation of the text.

"Were you able to figure out what it means?"

"No, actually I wasn't… It is written in a very old and dead language. But I was able to figure out that it has something to do with the pictures on the chest: about Angels and Demons and balance of light and shadow… I also copied the text so you can take the chest now. I think you could get a good price for it in a museum or something."

Robin gave Nami the chest and stood up. She was a little disappointed about having to give it away so soon. She wished she could've had more time to study it properly. She had tried to open the box but there weren't any keyholes or mechanisms that would allow the box to open.

Up on deck, Nami decided to give the chest to Zoro to protect. The swordsman was big, hairy, always in a bad mood, and could've even scared the devil himself when he got angry, and he could have kicked his ass also. So naturally he was the best one to protect her— er…THEIR treasure until she found someone who would pay the right price for it…

The whole crew was waiting outside on deck to start their village visit.

Zoro wasn't as enthusiastic as Nami was about the idea. He really hated to be bossed around by _´that damn sea-witch´_ like he used to call her when she was not around… Sometimes she was really scary…

He looked at the chest which was held in front of him, looked at the expression in Nami's face, and grabbed the chest as fast as he could…

VERY SCARY, I tell ya!

Sanji also stood up on deck and had watched the whole scene…

Well, he was as happy as Zoro was that the '_damn-shitty-good-for-nothing-except-for-sleeping-swordsman´ _was ordered to protect the treasure. And that he was ordered to do so PERSONALLY by his beloved, Angel- like goddess Nami- swan~!

"Oh, Nami- swaaaaaan~!!!!" he piped and flew over to her with a sad and upset expression on his face.

"Do you really want to let your wonderful treasure to be protected by— by this _´I am the greatest swordsman in the world and I also have managed to get lost under the shower twice ´_ Marimo- guy?"

"Yup, I want him to, Sanji!" Nami hissed in his direction. "And now put your ego back in its place and get over it! No one will touch the chest if Zoro carries it!"

Sanji looked like a deer that was suddenly hit by a piano… He also made the mistake to look at Zoro…

Well, Nami had managed it; Zoro was all right with the idea of having to protect the chest… His grin covered his whole face! Well, as you can imagine…

"Give it to me, shitty moss- head!"

The cook tried to grab the chest out of the swordsman's hands, but Zoro was faster and Sanji's hands just grabbed empty air.

"Nope, shit- cook! Nami- swaaan~ said I have to protect it because you're too weak!" the green- haired man teased.

Sanji went bright red in anger an embarrassment. He stiffened his body and attacked the swordsman who dodged backwards and waved the chest around.

"Hey, be careful! It's very fragile! If you damage it, you two will pay me the price I would have gotten for it when it was in perfect condition!" Nami yelled at the two idiots.

At this moment Sanji was able to grab the chest with one hand. He pulled it down between Zoro and him.

Now Sanji was able to grab the chest with his second hand. As he did, the fingertips of the cook's and the swordsman's hands touched each other…

As they did, suddenly a bright light appeared from around the whole chest. Sanji and Zoro tensed, looking at in surprise. Time around them seemed to slow down… every second stretching into hours….

They had touched each other's fingers lightly without even noticing. Now from their fingertips a warm and protective feeling appeared slowly into their bodies, taking them over. All the hatred and anger and everything were suddenly forgotten. They felt calm and comfortable and protected at the same time.

Then, the little box seemed to transform into… something? After that, the time started to go on like nothing had happened. The light disappeared from the two surprised men… And they suddenly were holding… well, they were holding a…

**_BABY?!?_**

- in both of their hands that had grabbed the little treasure chest.

"WAAAAAH!!!!" both of them and the whole crew around them cried, jumping in surprise.

"Wha- Wha- What is that?!?" Sanji squeaked with a high- pitched voice.

They all stopped, looking at it in horror and surprise. After a while, the crew surrounded the two men, looking closely at the little baby in their hands.

"It's a **_BABY?!?_**" the swordsman all but squeaked in surprise.

Luffy suddenly raised his arms and in all his Luffy- styled shout,

"Yay! Zoro gave birth to a baby!"

"Shut up you Idiot! I didn't give birth!

"Yay! Sanji gave birth to a baby!"

"Are you ill or something? I didn't give birth to it either, you idiot!"

"Yay! Zoro AND Sanji gave birth to a baby!!!"

A vein popped out of their foreheads and just as they wanted to scream their lungs out at their stupid captain the little, sleeping baby in their hands moved.

Again the crew widened their eyes and tensed, looking at it.

The baby yawned, stretching its tiny little arms and stretching every tiny little finger over its head. Then the little hands turned into fists just to rest again at the little, lightly tanned chest. The baby raised its head and slowly cracked one eye open, then the second one, blinked two or three times and looked into the Marimo's and cook's face with bright green eyes with light blue sparkles in them. And then suddenly it started to struggle, giggling with a high, baby voice, stretching its little arms to both men.

Sanji now took a closer look at the baby. It was a girl- with very lightly tanned skin, and… and… now it dawned him… But- that couldn't be! That was totally IMPOSSIBLE!

He heard Zoro gasp in surprise and looked at him, totally horrified just to get the same look back from the swordsman…

It was a girl, yes… but she had:

Lightly tanned skin- a mix of the skin color of Sanji and Zoro…

Zoro's dark green eyes with sparkles of Sanji's eye color…………

Short golden blond hair…………………………

Zoro's eyebrows………………………………………………………

And finally Sanji's beautiful, delicate face…………………………………………………………………

"'m not feeling good, Marimo~" was the last thing the cook was able to say… After that, he fell into a deep unconsciousness that would last for about 12 hours.

Luckily the Marimo wasn't that light- headed and had been able to catch the baby to press it gently against his chest. Usopp had been standing near the cook and caught the falling body.

Zoro looked down at the baby that had stopped giggling. She had turned her little head to the unconscious cook and slowly started hiccupping, just to turn around and to look up into the swordsman's face with tears falling down her little rosy cheeks. She closed her eyes and started crying…

The Marimo didn't know why but he couldn't help himself and started rocking the little baby out of impulse in his strong arms. He cooed and shushed at her, softly telling her that the bloody idiot down on the floor was ok and that he would wake up sooner or later…

The whole crew was still watching the scene, horrified. Only Usopp and Chopper moved over the unconscious cook.

**To be continued.**


	3. Month one

Still not own One Piece, still not making money with this! Beta readed by Princess Darkcloud, thank you so much! Hope you like it!

Warnings: Yaoi, language

Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Please review and be gentle! Reviews are welcome! Thx!

**YAY, finally chapter 3! Hope you enjoy it! I only life for Reviews!**

**Month one**

Infirmary

Chopper took a look at the unconscious, blond man in front of him. As much as he was able to say, Sanji was all right. After that, he bent himself over the baby, laying beside the cooks body. He felt her pulse, took her temperature (as you can guess, that was not to her pleasure and she started to struggle against the thermometer… Being grown can sometimes have its advantages!), and took a blood sample. After he completed the examination of the baby, Chopper went back to his desk just to note something into a document, which seemed to be a new file for his newest patient. After that, he leaned back in his chair, his face asking a single question.

"So, anything to say, Chopper?" Zoro asked. He had been inside the room throughout the entire examination. He had tried to walk away, but the baby started crying when he just stepped about five footsteps away from her and the cook.

"Well… It's a baby!" he said finally.

"… NO! You're kidding me…" Zoro remarked sarcastically.

Chopper turned around to look at the man standing in the middle of the room.

"No, I mean, she is a REAL, HUMAN BABY. As far as I can see right now without further examination. I also have to check her DNA, but she seems to be— well, the green eyes, the blond hair… Her skin and everything… She seems to be YOUR" Chopper lifted his hoof and pointed it at Sanji, "and HIS daughter…"

The Marimo stood there, stunned. "But— But HOW?"

"I don't know either! Well, maybe Robin has something she can say about that, we should ask her…"

The baby behind the two figures started to struggle again. She tried to roll herself over and Zoro turned around in a fast, liquid movement just to stop her from rolling over the edge of the bed.

"You must be careful," he gently scolded. "If you roll off the bed, you'll hurt yourself…"

With these words, he placed her gently back on the bed, nearer to the cook's side, and turned around to Chopper, so that his back would save her from falling off the bed if she were to struggle again. As the swordsman looked up and met Choppers eyes he scowled.

"WHAT?"

"Aww, Zoro! So cute!!" Chopper coed with tears in his eyes… He always knew the swordsman was a caring, protecting person, but normally he hid his true emotions under a rough shell of disinterest and unfriendliness.

"Sh-Shut up, you! I'm not cute or anything!" his cheeks went bright red. (*CHUCKLE*)

"Well, I can say something more about her, wanna know?"

"Spit it out already!" the swordsman yelled, just to jerk back and to turn his head around to the baby. She looked up into his face, somehow seeming surprised, but she didn't start crying. Even if he had been a little too loud, it didn't seem to bother her…

"Well, you know, I think she's about at the age of a five-month- old baby. And she is in good health, too. Her reflexes are better than I ever have seen in someone her age. Seems, that she got that from her…fathers…"

Zoro turned around again, his eyes wide in shock.

"Don't— don't say that! That's really— that really sounds too weird for me!!! Oh~ SHIT!! I need a drink, right NOW!" he stuttered, stepped away from the bed and right out of the room, just to turn around on his tiptoes in front of the infirmary, to stomp back to the bed where the little girl, again, had started to cry.

"Okay, okay! I'm not going, I'm here, I'm HERE! Stop it, _please_~!" but she didn't stop.

He turned around with pleading eyes, just to look at Chopper. He was so helpless at this moment. The whole situation was so SURREAL! What could he do with a baby for god's sake! He was a MAN, no woman! His eyes seemed to say '_why me?'_ He'd never had younger siblings or friends with children, so how would he be able to manage this mess? How would he be able to handle a baby, especially with his way of life? And it seemed like he just HAD to handle it, mostly because the baby, at the moment, wasn't willing to let him leave her side. And the crap- cook wasn't any help either!

"Maybe she is hungry?" the little doctor said. "I'll go get her something and we also need, well, pampers… I'll ask Nami and Usopp if they could go and buy everything we need for her."

"So, you're planning to leave her onboard?" he already knew the answer but still… so SURREAL!

"You're not?" Chopper asked in surprise and with a shocked expression in his furry face.

"Well, you know… I-I Don't… Maa, stop crying Angel, _PLEASE_~!!" Zoro pleaded, facing the girl. This really was too much for him.

"What did you say?" Chopper asked behind his back.

"Huh?"

"You- you called her '_Angel_´" the doctor said stunned.

"I did WHAT?" Zoro asked, also stunned.

"Yeah, you did!"

"…!" Zoro closed the gap behind his ass and the bed just to sit down on it. He felt sick! Awfully sick…

"I-I dunno why, but I think, that's— that's her name, you know…" his face had been pale and had turned into a light shade of green but now he turned bright red again.

"You stupid asshole already chose a NAME for her and you ask ME if she should stay onboard?!?" Chopper yelled back at him.

"Well, no, I- I didn't choose it… I dunno why, but- but I think that's simply her NAME… It- it FITS somehow… well, kinda…" his voice had become softer with every word he spoke.

Chopper looked as if he didn't know whether to laugh or to sedate him right then and there…

"Ok, I'll go and talk to Nami and the rest of the crew. Just stay in here and try not to go insane as long as I'm not here, Ok?"

Everything Zoro was able to do was a slow nod with his head.

´_What's wrong? What's going on here? Why did I know her name? And why the hell do I know that Angel really IS her name?!?´ _he asked his inner self but he didn't get an answer…

He looked down at the cook and the little baby, who had stopped crying and looked up to him with big, bright green eyes.

XXX

Sanji slowly regained consciousness… He cracked one eye open and moaned softly due to a massive headache. He'd had a mad dream about a baby and the swordsman. He was resting on the bed in Choppers infirmary; a lamp beside him filled the room with a warm, yellow light. As much as Sanji was able to see, the room was empty.

Something moved behind his back and he slowly turned around to see what it was. He jerked at the scene he had laid his eyes upon. Aside him, in the same bed, rested the Marimo. He went bright red and was actually about to yell at the sleeping man when a hand covered his mouth and the Marimo opened his eyes just to look into his.

"Sssch…You'll wake her…" he whispered and peered down to a spot between them. As the cook followed the sight he gasped… The little baby rested between them under a blanket. She was fast asleep and her little chest calmly rose with a slow rhythm.

Sanji widened his eyes… It hadn't been a dream… It was all true? But how?

"She cried the whole time when she saw you lying on the floor. So we put her down beside you and she calmed a little. But as I started to leave she started crying again. She calmed down when I lay down as well. She was so tired… Angel fell asleep in seconds…" the swordsman whispered. He had a strange expression on his face. Sanji thought he looked almost… lovingly at the girl between them.

"Who is Angel?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"Angel. You said Angel. Who is it?"

The swordsman's cheeks flushed a light pink. He looked up into the cooks face…

"She is."

XXX

Three days later

Everything was back to normal… Well, as much as it was able to be with a little baby onboard… The log pose would set in about two days, so they had the time to talk about what to do now. A baby onboard of a pirate ship… How would that work? It couldn't work!

The whole crew and the baby were in the galley. The girl sat on Zoro's lap, absentmindedly playing with a doll Robin had given her. It was a really old doll she had gotten from her mother when she as old as the baby was now. The doll was made entirely of light, milky, coffee colored fabric, and dressed in a light blue dress. The hair was made out of white wool; it had big red lips and black buttons as eyes. It was almost as big as Angel (now officially named) was.

"You REALLY plan to leave the little demon onboard, don't ya, Marimo?" the cook asked with a dark voice.

"She is NO demon you asshole!" the swordsman yelled.

"What are you? Her MOTHER?" Sanji shot back.

"Hey! If Zoro's the Mommy, then Sanji is the Daddy~!!!" Luffy yelled.

"What did you say?" both men, Zoro and Sanji hissed in unison.

"Oh, oh!!! I'm the big brother, am I not?? Shishishishishi! I always wanted a little brother or sister!" the crazy captain bounced up and down and his grin spread across his entire face.

Angel had stopped playing with the doll when Zoro yelled at the cook and now looked surprised at the whole crew. Robin chuckled.

"What is it?" Zoro hissed unfriendly in her direction.

"Don't be so rude to the lady you shitty swordsman!" Sanji hissed back.

"I can be as rude as I want to be you stupid-"

"STOP saying such words in front of a little, innocent baby, you assholes! …! Oh, I'm sorry!" Chopper yelled and after that whooped his dance.

Robin chuckled again. "If I may interrupt your conversation I would like you to take a closer look at the baby…" she said with a calm voice.

The whole crew turned their faces to Angel. For most of the last three days she had been with the swordsman and the cook in the infirmary or the kitchen, so no one had actually been able to take a closer look at her face.

Angel still looked in surprise at the rest of the crew.

Her bright green eyes with the light blue sparkles seemed to shine like an emerald in the sun. Her lips were parted, her face a single question.

Sanji gasped.

That was so unfamiliar to him but still so familiar!

In this very moment she completely looked like the cook when he was surprised. Well, still with the difference of Zoro's eyebrows and his dark green eyes of course. She looked so much like him and still so much like the swordsman…it was too much for him to handle! He jerked back with a yell of displeasure on his lips and stood up so fast that his chair fell noisily back onto the floor. Angel twitched visibly and turned her face to the belly of the swordsman, just to nuzzle into him, and started to cry.

"Oh, wonderful! You scared her!" the swordsman yelled in anger.

"So what! I couldn't care less!" Sanji yelled back and stomped out of the kitchen.

"Hey, come back you asshole!" Zoro stood up as fast as he was able to with the baby in his arms and ran after the stupid jerk out of the Galley.

"Well, that was entertaining!" the raven-haired archeologist chuckled. "She looks so much like the two of them, it's almost scary…"

"Maybe we should go after them. I'm afraid they could kill each other right now…" Franky said.

"I don't think so. Zoro's still too busy holding the baby…" Nami interrupted.

"So, what shall we do with her?" Usopp asked.

"Huh? Why? What should we do with her?" Luffy asked in surprise.

"Luffy. We can't leave her onboard! She is too young for life on a pirate ship. If we're going to be attacked, what shall we do then?" Nami lowly answered.

"Protect her!" Luffy shot back not one second after Nami finished her sentence.

"We can't-" Nami started but was interrupted by Franky.

"Why not, sis? We will protect her and you know yourself, out of your experiences, that it can be just as dangerous in a village as it can be on a pirate ship."

"Also," Robin mentioned, "what else would we do? We can't leave her behind. As you were able to see in the last few days, cook- san and swordsman- san are not able to leave her side for one second without her starting to cry. So, should we leave them behind, too?"

Silence… That, of course, was out of question!

"So, it's decided! We've got a new Nakama! Captain's order!!!" Luffy yelled, wooing all over the place.

And actually, what else could they do?

XXX

Sanji stood up on deck, a cig between his parted lips. He chewed on it absentmindedly as finally the Marimo found him and stood in silence behind his back just to stare angrily at him.

"What is it, Marimo?" the cook asked lowly, not even turning around.

"Why did you scare her? You really shouldn't have done that! Why are you always so cold towards her? You didn't even touch her a single time since she got here!" the swordsman yelled, Angel still crying in his arms.

"Why should I?!? She is not natural! Just a- a ghost or a demon or something!" the cook had turned around and yelled angrily in Zoro's direction.

"I already told you before! SHE. IS. NO. DEMON!!" Zoro angrily hissed back. If he had been alone with the cook right now he would have actually killed him! "She is your daughter!"

"SHE IS NOT MY DAUGHTER!!! SHE IS JUST-JUST A _THING _AND NOTHING ELSE!!!" Sanji screamed.

Both men stared at each other, heavy panting. Angel had stopped crying. The baby looked in Sanji's direction, still with tears in her eyes. Her bottom lip was shoved over her upper lip, both her lip and her body were lightly trembling…

Sanji moaned in something like disbelief. In the Galley her face looked just like Sanji's- well, THIS expression of pain and lack of understanding in her face was all Zoro, surrounded by Sanji's golden hair.

Sanji again looked in the Marimo's face.

"What is it with you?" he asked, spiting the words to the ground. "You are Roronoa Zoro, the great swordsman, aren't you? A man without feelings, well, so I thought. And now? You've fallen for her from the first day- from the first MOMENT you laid eyes on her, haven't you? She is unnatural and still you've accepted her without hesitation! Why?!?"

Zoro just stared in silence. Some moments later he opened his mouth.

"I don't know… It- it is just as if… It is just like it is! Sometimes you just have to accept things without hesitation. She is here and it looks like she won't disappear any time soon. If it were to be another problem: like an enemy or something else, I could fight against it, try to get rid of it… But she is no enemy, she is not dangerous—"

"You don't know if she is…"

"-AND she needs protection! She asked us for it, even if she can't speak, and I will give it to her! That's all…"

Again silence flooded over the three of them. After a while Sanji finally spoke, "Take it as you wish, Marimo. Protect her, raise her but don't expect that from my side." With these words the cook turned around, lighting a new cig. Zoro went some footsteps away just to sit down lend against the mast.

This conversation was over for today, but not forever.

XXX

As the time went by and the log pose was set, they started their journey again, Angel onboard.

The baby always started crying, when Zoro and Sanji were not near her. She especially started crying, when they were not TOGETHER near her. So the cook and the swordsman had no other choice but to stay together with the baby all the time.

On top of everything they had to take an extra room on the ship— TOGETHER— because of the needs of Angel during the night! The rest of the men weren't able to sleep when Angel started to cry for food or other needs and also the girls told the men that it wasn't a good idea to let a little baby sleep in one room with so many Neanderthals- err MEN around her.

Some time ago Franky had built a room with a big bed for guests or other… Things... Ahem… So the cook and the Marimo had no other choice to sleep in one room… In one bed… They stopped the teasing of Franky and Usopp immediately with a harsh kick on Usopp's head and a new wound upon Franky's chest caused by a sharp sword. Angel slept between the two guys. She STILL slept between them as Franky had built her an own bed. Neither the swordsman nor even the cook wanted to sleep in one bed with one another without the baby between them.

Both of them were embarrassed, bad tempered, disgusted and no crewmember, not even they were a girl, was allowed to say one word about their new room.

Also something about the two guys had changed. They didn't fight anymore, well, better to say they fought much less. Angel always started crying, when they tried to pick up a real, serious fight. But sometimes, when they yelled at each other, she started to giggle… It was, as if she was able to figure out whether the Marimo and the cook were fighting seriously or they just bitched around to let off some steam.

And more thing had changed: Sanji was always pissed off. Not that he wouldn't be like this all the time, but in the past few days it was getting worse, especially in front of the baby. Every woman in the world was special to him. He always treated EVERY woman like a princes or a queen, not depending on their age… But the baby…

He didn't even touch her. It was as if he was AFRAID to come near to her. He was always annoyed, when she made just one single sound. As Robin asked him what was up to him, he just said:

"I don't trust this little Marimo- like monster, that's all!"

That was what she still was to him: A MONSTER! Not natural! And he really was kind of AFRAID of her, even if he would never admit it to himself or to anyone else in the crew. When he looked at her, she always reminded him of the shitty swordsman or of himself when he was a kid. This mixture… Between him and his rival, almost enemy… The one person he was never able to get along with… It was just so SURREAL!

Well, to be honest… And Sanji wasn't honest to himself very often, so he always fought the thoughts in his mind down when they started to come up, he didn't hate Angel as much as the other crewmembers thought. He was just afraid and shocked to the bottom of his soul that he actually had a daughter… A REAL, HUMAN daughter! With HIS face, HIS hair and some of HIS attitudes… And that he had this daughter not with a beautiful woman like Nami or Robin… Nope, he actually had this daughter with a hairy, stupid, sweaty, muscle- headed green Marimo, man who surely hated him more than any other human being in the whole world…

And another thing shocked him more than anything else…

**Flashback**

Sanji prepared food in the Galley. Zoro and the little mischief- maker were sitting on the ground of the Galley in a corner, playing some stupid games with their hands. Sanji had just started to prepare the meat for dinner, when he suddenly heard a low snore from behind his back. He turned around just to see the shitty swordsman fast asleep. He leaned against the wall, his legs crossed, Angel sitting in his lap, with her back at the Marimo's belly. She also was fast asleep… The swordsman hugged her lightly with his left arm, his right arm lying next to him on the floor.

This picture of the two of them was SO cute, the cook almost couldn't handle it, wishing for a camera. The sight of the swordsman and the girl, both the same expressions in their faces… Sanji just couldn't help himself- they looked so cute together…

The cook found himself, staring at the sight, smiling lightly … He jerked back, turned around and grabbed his head with both hands, a shocked expression on his face.

´_What am I doing? What am I thinking?!? The little brat isn't cute and especially the Marimo isn't cute!!! Oh my god!!! Help me, please~!!!´_

**Flashback end**

Zoro was different.

When they sat in the Galley and she was hungry, he fed her. When she was bored, he played with her. When she was crying, he tried to comfort her. He always had an eye on her, even when he had his daily workout and the cook didn't look at her, reading a cookbook, ignoring both of them completely.

Chopper finally finished his analysis but still wasn't able to give them any further information.

Angel REALLY was the daughter of the two men. She was a complete mixture of their DNA and had Sanji's blood type. But she was not completely human, also. Chopper couldn't figure out what it was, but the baby just had 99% of the DNA of a human being. So, what was the other 1%? A mistake in his analysis? He ran through the paternity test twice, also the normal DNA test, but he couldn't figure out. And Robin as well was unable to say more. She was still struggling with the old script she had copied off of the no- longer- existent chest. It didn't seem to bother her, but everyone who knew her was able to see that she was completely pissed!

So another two weeks went by. They would still need about two more weeks until the next island. The weather was warm, the sun was shining and they had enough wind to travel quickly over a calm, deep blue sea.

Angel finally understood that neither Sanji nor Zoro would disappear into nothing when they weren't around her for 24 hours a day. But she still was adamant when it was night. She wanted the two men with her in one room, so the other crewmembers had to take over their night shift.

Zoro was able to train again, Angel in a playpen next to him (built by Usopp and Franky) playing with a green and yellow ball (Also made by Franky and Usopp. When Sanji and Zoro saw the green and yellow ball, well… You know… Usopp still had a light blue bruise on his chin from Sanji's kick and Franky, well… He now has got a new scar on his right arm from Zoro's sword… Selbst Schuld, ne?), while Sanji was in his Galley, smoking and preparing food for Dinner.

The cook still didn't like to be near the baby, so Angel was with Zoro most of time or with her new, beloved babysitter.

And who was the new, beloved babysitter? You wouldn't figure it out, but it actually was Luffy!

In the first two weeks Luffy had been around the three persons as often as possible. He really adored his new "Little Nakama and soon new ship's _girl_" and also, to everyone's surprise, a good and, also, a _RESPONSIBLE _babysitter. He played with her, was able to comfort her with a funny grimace when she was crying and already tried to show her how to walk.

The rest of the crew was still suspicious of the girl, just like Sanji was. As long as the baby was a complete mystery, she was also a distress for the whole crew. Especially Nami didn't like the little girl, the first time as she had tried to carry Angel in her arms, the baby started to cry and to struggle and calmed down as Luffy took her over.

One more part of her character that made Zoro fall for her more and more…

And Brook? Well, he was just like Sanji, too. He didn't dare to touch her, or look at her. He actually was kind of afraid, too. He wasn't able to figure out where his discomfort came from, but Angel just wasn't his type. He finished his meals as fast as possible when she was within the Galley and avoided his Nakama when they were with Angel.

Angel, by herself seemed to like everyone of the crew (everyone but Nami: the red- haired, loud, bad tempered person was just too scary…).

The baby also grew very quick. 3 weeks after she was ´_born´_ she seemed to be about 14 months old. Chopper figured out, that she was aging about three months a week, means one year per month.

The fact that she was growing this fast made the whole crew, even Brook, Sanji, and Nami worried. When she was aging this fast and would only become as old as a normal human woman… About 70 years old, meant about 70 months… Then she would die in about 5 years and 10 month more or less…

XXX

Third week

Sanji was alone with the baby in the Galley. He and the Marimo had just had a ´_discussion_´ about a ´_babysitting rubber_´ and a lazy cook, who wasn't able to ´_jump over his own shadow_´ and ´_was afraid of a little, innocent baby_´. After these words and after a serious fight with the Marimo and after a yelling Chopper who treated their wounds and AFTER they finally were able to comfort Angel who still was crying, because of their fight, the cook obeyed to baby- sit her since he was preparing dinner.

The swordsman was outside, taking a nap near the Galley.

Sanji walked to the fridge, taking out the vegetables for dinner. He went back to the counter and started to chop the vegetables, throwing them into a big bowl. He wanted to make green salad, fresh sea- king with rice, and fresh bread. And for dessert: ice- cream.

Angel watched him the whole time with much interest, sitting in the middle of the Galley. Her bright green eyes watched every step of the young cook. Every time she was in the Galley she seemed to stare at the cook, watching him… Except the time she was distracted by the shitty Marimo. Why did she always watch him? Sanji wasn't even nice to her, but she seemed somehow… fascinated...

Her hair had grown down to her shoulders. It had the color of gold when the sun was shining and she also had light curls in it.

Sanji knew that when his hair became too long, he also had light curls...

Angel had started to hide her left eye from time to time…

He lifted his head, facing the little girl.

"What?" he asked angrily. "What do you want? Don't stare at me like this! Just play with your stupid ball or do anything else but stop watching me you little brat!"

He wasn't in a good mood. The swordsman always snapped when the cook smoked in front of the kid and so he hadn't been able to smoke a cig for about half an hour. Maybe he should buy some lollypops at the next port…

The girl kept watching.

Sanji shivered under the intense look of those dark, green eyes, reminding him too much of the Marimo. He sighed and went back to work.

Some moments later he felt something on his right leg and looked down.

Angel stood there, unsteady (she made her first steps 2 days ago and now was able to walk some steps without help but the most time she crawled), her little arms hugging the cooks leg.

Sanji jerked back in surprise but didn't move his leg.

"What?" he yelled at her. "What do you want you little brat? Let go!"

Angel looked up to him but didn't let go.

"As if you were able to answer me you little demon" the cook murmured, concentrating again on the vegetables. He thought if he would ignore her long enough she would become bored and let go.

"Daddy…"

The cook stiffened. Did he finally become insane?

Sanji looked down to the little girl, still hugging his leg.

"W- Wait, wh- " he frowned.

"No, just imagined."

Suddenly the girl raised her right arm, still steadying herself with the other arm on Sanji's leg.

"Daddy livd!" she said with a babyish voice.

Sanji almost fell unconscious…

That didn't happen!

That couldn't be!

The little brat with her golden curls, his face and HIS eyes just didn't call him DADDY!

The child hugging his leg started to struggle up in his direction.

Again,

"Daddy!" but this time more serious.

Sanji's mind was completely blank. He bent himself down to the kid, grabbing her with both hands under her arms and lifted her up to his chest, one arm around her back and one under her pampered bottom.

Angel snuggled herself into Sanji's chest.

"Daddy warm~!" she asserted.

"Hey, hey you! I am not your Daddy, little brat!"

Angel looked up to him in surprise. She stared him in his unhidden eye…

"Who has taught you this word and told you that I am your Daddy? It wasn't the swordsman, he barely speaks, even in front of you and would never tell you that I am your- oh, wait! WAAAAIT~!" Sanji sighed. "LUFFY!" he frowned.

He definitely would kick his ass for that and reduce his meat rations to half for about one week! He looked back down at the girl in his arms. It was the first time he held her the cook noticed. He had somehow grabbed her automatically, not even thinking. It felt kind of… _nice._

_´Oh, no! No, NO! It doesn't feel nice to have a half Marimo in my arms!´ _he thought, shaking his head.

Angel still was staring at him.

"What is it? Don't stare at me like that!" the cook hissed.

Suddenly her eyes wandered to the left side of his face. She twitched visibly, buckled her beautiful face in something like- like pain?

"Hey, what is it?" Sanji asked, lightly scared. Was she suffering, was she injured? No, that couldn't be. She wasn't injured or anything… But what was it then? (Yeah, yeah! Acting as if he wouldn't hold the devil in person but still freaking out when something seemed to bother her… *SIGH*)

"Daddy outsssch~!" she said with her babyish voice, slapping her left hand upon her left eye.

The cook just shrugged back. That was it! From her position she was able to look behind his bangs.

A little hand rose up, behind his bangs just to touch the left side of his face lightly.

"Daddy ouch…" Angel asserted seriously, tears in her eyes.

Sanji looked down at the child in his arms. A warm feeling he never felt before spread out into his chest. He smiled lightly to the little person in his arms, her expression again: all Zoro…

´_No, stupid cook, no! You will NOT fall for the little demon!!!´_ Sanji thought but still answered her.

"No, Daddy not ouch. It's okay, it doesn't hurt…" he said calmly.

Angel, still looking seriously, eyebrows furrowed seemed to decide whether to believe him or not.

"I have to prepare dinner, you little brat." the young man said.

Angel let her arm fall again upon Sanji's chest, turned around and struggled into the direction of the counter.

"Okay, you can sit there." Sanji sat Angel on the counter, wide away from the knife he would use in some moments. He sliced off a piece of fresh bread for her from the loaf and gave it to her. She started to chew at it thankfully, following every step the young cook made with her eyes. As he started to slice the tomatoes a little forefinger pointed upon one of them.

"Oh, you've never seen it before, have you?" Sanji asked in Angel's direction. "It's a tomato, you know. To-ma-to!"

Angel looked down to the fruit.

"Dome-ade-oe" she tried to say. The cook chuckled.

"No, tomato. You soon will be able to say it..." He turned back to his vegetables. Suddenly he had an idea.

"Hey, Angel!" it was the first time he called her by her name so it was no wonder that the little girl looked up to him in surprise.

"Can you say… umm… ´_Marimo_´?" he asked her.

A few moments passed in complete silence… The little girl, her face a single question.

"Say ´_Marimo'_…'_Ma- ri- mo_´" the cook repeated.

Again, that look and then, finally one word, spoken by those beautiful, tiny, pink lips: "Mommy!"

"…!"

Zoro jerked up out of his sleep caused by a loud, insane laughter, coming out of the Galley. He jumped up onto his feet, opened the Galley door and looked into the room. What he was able to see was a little girl, sitting on the counter with a piece of bread in her hands, her face all surprised, and a blond cook, rolling all over the floor, holding his aching stomach, laughing like insane!

"Oi, cook! Are you finally insane?"

The laughter stopped immediately. Sanji looked up into Zoro's face, tears pouring out of his eyes. He turned bright red, like his tomatoes and…

Started again to laugh and to roll himself all over the floor. Whatever it was, the swordsman had this feeling he really didn't want to know what was going on. He glanced one last time to Angel up on the counter. She seemed to be all right and even if the cook would explode or get a heart attack because of his insane laughter she still wasn't in danger.

"Oi, don't let her fall off the counter, cook!"

He just rolled his eyes and went back to his nap.

To Luffy's surprise, from that day on, one week along his meat-rations had magically doubled…

XXX

At Dinnertime, the crew went into the Galley and took their places at the table. Sanji mixed the salad in the bowl, Angel sitting next to him on the counter with a piece of bread in her hands.

"When you add the sauce too early, the salad becomes withered by mealtime, you know?" he murmured under his breath, facing the little girl.

After that he turned around, the bowl in his hands, leaving Angel thoughtlessly at the counter… (He still had to practice how to treat a baby and where you can leave it… tsk!)

The crew already had started to err… I suppose one would call it eating, though it was much wilder than such: it was more of a loud, annoying fight with their crazy captain for food…

As the cook was about five steps away a call of

"DADDY~!!!"

from the counter made the whole fight stop immediately.

The cook turned around, facing the little girl, smiling (so no one was able to see), saying

"Yeah, yeah you little brat, I'm coming, I'm coming!" Lifting Angel with one arm, the bowl still in his other arm, he again turned around, his smile disappearing before he turned around. He started to walk to the table, just to stop immediately as he looked up to his Nakama. He would have laughed at the scene in front of him, if the silence hadn't been so weird.

The whole crew stared at him and Angel, frozen in their last actions.

Luffy, one arm grabbed by Nami, one of his hands grabbing her fish, the other by Zoro (also his fish in his hands) mouth full of rice.

Chopper and Usopp, also with mouths full of rice, sauce dripping out of their half opened mouths, forks with rice, now slowly falling from the forks, half in front of their faces.

Robin, mouth open, her fork poised with a piece of fish in front of her mouth.

Franky, actually making his star to honor Sanji's delicious food and Brook with a cup of tea, the liquid in it dripping now into his lap due to the unlucky angle he held the cup.

Sanji blinked in surprise…

"WHAT?!?" he yelled.

Three…

Two…

One…

After that, Dinner was finished. The whole crew except Brook surrounded Angel and the cook.

Luffy, grinning wide and proud presented himself as her teacher. The cook just grinned back, patting Luffy's back. The Marimo scratched his head, wondering why the hell the 'damn shitty cook' was her first word AND the first person she noticed as her Daddy…

Well, his ´_surprise_´ and a beaten up Luffy came the next day, but that's another story, for another day…


	4. Month one extra

Still not own One Piece, still not making money with this! Beta readed by Princess Darkcloud, thank you so much! Hope you like it!

Warnings: Yaoi, language

Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Please review and be gentle! Reviews are welcome! Thx!

**I know that a one and a half year old baby cannot think in those straight ways, so you just shouldn't take it as her thoughts but as her feelings for her surroundings. Enjoy!**

_Month one- Extra_

**Mommy!**

I was in the kitchen with my Daddy. He looked down at me, confused, but not angry.

"What is it? Don't stare at me like that!" Daddy hissed at me, somehow angry. His embrace was so warm but he still tensed, as if he didn't like holding me in his arms. That made me sad somehow, but I still couldn't stop loving him. He is my Daddy after all.

I was still looking up at his face. I've never been so close to it. He looks so nice. I love his face… But, what is that? My Daddy always hides one of his eyes with his hair, but with my position in his arms I am actually able to look behind his bangs. Something is… WRONG with it…

I know out of my experience with my family that everyone has a mouth, a nose, and two eyes on their faces. Everyone but Daddy… This side looks kind of… how to say it? Kind of _wrong_. It looks like it must hurt…

"Hey, what is it?" Daddy asks me with a weird expression in his face. I've never seen this expression before so I don't know how to explain it. So I just say what I see.

"Daddy outsssch~!" I say, slapping my hand over my eye, so he knows what I mean.

His expression is changed, somehow… Not everything of the expression from a moment ago is gone, but his face becomes all pale. I don't think that this expression is a good one, so I raise my arm to touch his hidden side softly with my fingers to comfort him.

"Daddy ouch…" I say again, feeling something inside me welling up to the surface. My eyes filling with tears, something inside me HURTS so much. I don't want my Daddy to suffer! Then, suddenly the weird expression in his face is gone and he looks down to me with a soft smile I've never seen before on his face.

"No, Daddy not ouch. It's okay, it doesn't hurt…" he says.

I didn't understand every word he said but I let my arm fall back upon his chest. Maybe he wanted me to say that he doesn't suffer at the moment.

"I have to prepare dinner, you little brat." Daddy said gently.

´_Brat´_… I don't actually like the word. Mommy always gets mad when Daddy calls me that… But I let it go, I don't want to break the moment because he is still smiling at me and that's a good thing, isn't it? So I struggle in the direction of the plate Daddy's preparing food at.

"Okay, you can sit there." He placed me gently near the plate, slicing a piece off of the delicious tasting bread he made and hands it to me. I start chewing at it; it is still slightly warm and it smells so good…

I want to be closer to him and to the things he is doing with his hands. I also am curious about the food he is handling. I never saw the funny looking round balls before. I'm curious…

"Oh, you've never seen it before, have you? It's a tomato, you know. To- ma- to!" he spells slowly.

I look back at it. "Dome- ade- oe" I try to say. But… that didn't sound like the word Daddy said. It is not easy to speak. My big brother is always practicing with me. He knows a lot of words and also told me who my is Daddy and who my is Mommy and the meaning of those words, and also the meaning of the word ´_Family_´. I really adore him, even if he's a little crazy and loud sometimes.

My Daddy chuckled: "No, tomato. You will be able to say it soon..."

Silence fell over the room; the only thing I hear is the sound of my Daddy's knife, slicing through the tomatoes. Suddenly he says, "Hey, Angel! Can you say… umm… ´_Marimo_´?"

It is the first time he called me by my name! It felt good… But… Marimo? What does he… Oh, WAIT! I know! He is always calling Mommy ´_Marimo´_ and Mommy doesn't seem to like it! Maybe he just doesn't know that Mommy is not ´_Marimo´?_

"Say ´_Marimo'_…'_Ma- ri- mo_´" he repeats.

Maybe I should tell him that it is '_Mommy'_ and not ´_Marimo'? _Yeah, that's it! So I open my mouth and say as clearly as possible so he won't miss the word, "Mommy!"

Daddy looks at me for some moments, completely silent, somehow puzzled. Then a second later he's lying on the floor, laughing like I've never seen him laugh before. What was so funny? Suddenly, Mommy's at the door of the kitchen, "Oi, cook! Have you finally gone insane?"

´_What is insane?_´ I ask myself before I register that Daddy has stopped laughing. Then he starts again, his face the same color as the tomatoes right now.

"Oi, don't let her fall off the counter, cook!" My Mommy says, shooting me a surprised look, and then finally closing the door behind him.

Some moments later, Daddy's finally up on his feet again, tears in his eye… Why is his eye full of tears? He looks at me, smiling widely, still the color of the tomatoes. Then he does something I didn't expect; he leans forward, just to place a soft kiss upon my forehead. My heart skipped a beat and I feel my cheeks getting warm. I place my hand upon the spot he kissed me only a moment ago and look up to him with a silent question. He looks back with this wonderful smile that I notice I really adore…

"Let's feed the crew!" he says and turns back to his work.

XXX

The next day

I am outside on the deck. It is warm and the sun is shining. I am sitting on the grass, playing with the doll aunt Robin gave me. I look up in her direction just to see her sitting in a chair near the railing, with a book in her hands. Why does she always stare at it? Wouldn't it be more interesting to play with it? Maybe she could make some of the funny figures uncle Franky made for me out of the paper he got from aunt Nami…

I shiver lightly. Somehow she scares me, even if it seems she can be very nice, too. But most of the time she's nice she doesn't actually mean it. I know; I can feel such things. I know when somebody is honest towards another person or when they are hiding their real feelings. So I also always know when aunt Nami is nice to my Daddy just to get something. Then Daddy always gets kinda…weird, you know: spinning around, waving his arms over his head with hearts in his eyes…I don't like it when he's like that. Because I know that he's just hiding something like—like sadness behind his behavior. He knows that aunt Nami is just playing, and I don't like her for making my Daddy sad…

With Mommy, Daddy is different. Whenever they are near each other I can feel the air trembling somehow between them. It is a good trembling, though. I think they like each other more than they show. But why are they always like that? Maybe it's because of me? When they fight seriously with each other it is usually when they are fighting about me… Am I the reason they can't get along with each other? I saw aunt Nami giving my big brother a kiss on his cheek one day. My brother went bright red and I was able to feel something like comfort between them. My brother told me that a Mommy and a Daddy have a child because they like each other very much. So, why do they never kiss each other? Does it mean they don't like each other? And what does it mean for me? Do they like me at all?

When they are just mocking each other it is fun! Then a warm feeling of comfort spreads inside my chest, but when they are fighting for real…something…INSIDE me is…I dunno. I feel weird and angry and sad and something dark is welling up inside me and I am afraid of the darkness. It is not like the night when everything is dark and I can feel Mommy and Daddy beside me, sleeping; when everything is so warm and I feel so protected. No, this darkness is cold and I am afraid of it, so I start to cry because I know then they will stop and their attention is on me and the fight is forgotten.

I am still looking at my aunt Robin. I am sure you can make great figures out of the pages. Yes! I am going to tell her!

So I stood up to walk over to her. It is not easy to walk I can tell ya! You are so far away from the ground and it is exhausting to walk! But I know that when I am able to walk my Mommy is proud of me. He always smiles when he sees me walking. So I bravely walk over to Aunt Robin, away from my Mommy who was sleeping beside me on the ground. I know that he is looking at me now. He is always looking at me when I am doing something on my own, but he doesn't stop me so I think it's ok to walk over to Aunt Robin… At the end of the grass, where the real deck starts, I stumble over my own feet and fall down to my knees. I feel a sharp pain running through my legs. It hurts so much! I just start to cry!

XXX

Zoro saw Angel stumbling over her own feet, falling down onto her knees. After that she started to cry. He jumped up as fast as possible. Robin wasn't able to catch her fast enough with her arms, so Angel just slammed down onto the wood of the deck unprotected. Zoro picked her up just to look at her knees; they were both bleeding.

"Chopper!" he yelled over the deck to the little reindeer, who was playing some stupid games with Usopp. Zoro walked to the galley while Chopper went down to the infirmary to get the first aid kit.

Zoro pressed the crying girl gently to his chest, not noticing that some of her blood was soaking into his white shirt.

In the Galley, Sanji was just preparing food. When Zoro, with Angel, walked into the Galley, he turned around.

"What do you want, Ma-" he stopped, catching the scene before him. To Zoro's amazement he went pale. "What happened?" he asked.

"She stumbled over her own feet and fell down onto her knees. I don't think she is really injured but Chopper should still have a look at it, maybe to disinfect the scratches." Zoro said calmly, placing the crying girl onto one of the chairs.

The cook shot him a look, if Zoro hadn't known better he would say it said ´_How can you still stay so calm when our little princess is injured?!´_ but Zoro was sure he had just imagined it. The expression on his face was gone before he could say it for real.

Chopper finally arrived in the Galley, too. He took a closer look at Angel's knees while Zoro tried to comfort her. Then suddenly Sanji stood beside them, a big strawberry in one of his hands. Angel loved strawberries ever since she was able to chew solid food. Well, just like Zoro…

She was still crying, but when she noticed the fruit in front of her she stopped immediately just to take the fruit into her trembling hands. She still hiccupped, looking down at Chopper who was disinfecting her knees with a colorless liquid. She started to chew on the big strawberry, still hiccupping, and tears still running down her face.

"Like Zoro said: it's nothing serious." Chopper finally said. He had bandaged both of her knees.

Angel looked up in Zoro's direction. She had stopped crying completely and finished the strawberry. Then something caught her attention. She looked down up on Zoro's Shirt.

´_I made Mommy dirty! He hasn't noticed yet, maybe I should tell him? I hope he's not angry…´_ she wondered. And so she lifted up her little arm and pointed her forefinger at the blood on Zoro's shirt.

"Mommy dirdy!" she asserted.

The room fell completely silent…

XXX

Luffy was sitting upon the figurehead of the Thousand Sunny, enjoying the warm sun and the cool breeze; he was still thinking about the kiss Nami gave him two days ago. He knew it was impossible, but he could swear his cheek was still tickling a little where she had kissed him. Suddenly, he heard how the Galley door was opened: violently, slamming against the wood of the Galley wall. He turned around just to see a very angry Zoro, his Bandana around his head, eyes filled with the promise of a near, quick death. He had all his swords unsheathed, two in his hands, Wadou in his mouth.

Luffy looked surprised at his first Mate.

"LUFFYYYYYYYYYYY~!" he managed to scream over Wadou, "WHY THE HELL IS ANGEL CALLING ME MOMMY?!?"

Luffy's smile faded within a nanosecond.

"Uh oh~!" he murmured.

After that he ran for his life. The crewmembers who hadn't noticed the "Mommy" in the Galley caught Zoro's outraged yell, so now everyone in the crew, even Brook, were laughing their asses off, with a very bewildered baby between them.

Everyone except Luffy of course who was hunted around the whole ship by a completely pissed off demon of a swordsman…

Well, Chopper had two jobs to do that day…


	5. Month two

Still not own One Piece, still not making money with this! Beta readed by Princess Darkcloud, thank you so much, best and fastest beta ever! Hope you like it!

Ich hoffe, dass Stundenzählen hat sich gelohnt, Honey ;)

Warnings: Yaoi, language

Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Please review and be gentle! Reviews are welcome! Thx!

**This is the next part of Angel- obvious, I know. They actually are at the Red- Line, after Kuma. I don´t know the series after Thriller Bark, so I will let my own fantasy flow free and take my own way down on the Red- Line. I hope you´ll still like ****and enjoy it!**

**Month two**

Angel was now about twenty-four months old. Her golden-blond hair was shoulder-length with slight curls at the ends. Her beautiful green eyes had become even darker and the light blue sparkles seemed to shine like diamonds when light fell into her eyes. Her face had become even cuter (if possible), a complete female Sanji, with Zoro's eyebrows, except they were not as sharp as his. She already had all her teeth, which were as white as pearls and (to everyone's relief) already didn't need to be pampered anymore. Her lightly tanned skin had become darker by the sun. Robin (together with Nami, though you wouldn't have expected it) had bought her a light-green dress with a light-blue belt made out of fabric, which was tied together on her back in a big bow, they also bought her matching green-blue shoes. Angel now hid her left eye all the time with her hair, just like Sanji, the hair in front her eye the same length as his. She had been aboard the Thousand Sunny for six weeks and 3 days now. That day, they had their first Marine attack since Angel was ´born´…

It was a foggy day, but the sun already tried its best to banish the nasty fog. It would become a warm, sunny day out on the Red Line eventually. Angel played outside on deck with Luffy and Chopper. Actually, Robin, who sat in a chair near the railing and was reading a book, tickled the three of them with six of her arms, two on Chopper, one on Angel and three on Luffy. They screamed and laughed out of full lungs. Zoro, who had just finished his morning workout, lay near them, seeming asleep; but if you were to take a closer look on his face, you were able to see a slight smile on his face and that he was watching the little group with his right eye slightly open.

After some minutes, Robin stopped her teasing and smiled at the little group, who were starting a loud, annoying, game of tag in front of the Galley. Suddenly the Galley door flew wide open and a really pissed off cook came out into the sunshine just to yell at the whole group that he was running a headache and that they had to be 'fucking quiet, RIGHT NOW!!!' He yelled, even at Angel, who had started to complain about it…

"Daddy, we're playwing-"

"You can play elsewhere, but not here, brat!" Sanji yelled, outraged, in her direction.

One second later he already regretted his words, but it was too late. The cook knew that Angel didn't like it when he called her a brat and since the day she first called him ´Daddy´ he hadn't done it anymore. But Sanji was actually sick: he had a headache, a cold, and was also running a high fever and had not slept the whole night. No one, not even Chopper, had noticed it yet. Sanji never came straight to Chopper when he was ill or injured; no, Chopper, or other crewmembers, had to notice this fact by themselves. Sanji knew that this was no excuse when he saw the tears welling up in Angel's beautiful eyes, which were now even darker.

Angel and the cook still didn't have a good relationship. Well, not in front of the crew I mean. Sanji still was too proud to tell the others the truth about his changed feelings for Angel. He was still uncomfortable near her, but he didn't actually have any fear anymore. When they were alone in the Galley, Sanji already tried to teach her every different fruit, vegetable, fish, and meat type he had in his stock. Angel seemed to be very curious about all of the ingredients and also his cooking. In front of the crew, especially in front of the swordsman, he still held back with his feelings, but alone with her he was, not completely, but somehow different. He smiled at her and sometimes gave her a little kiss when she had made something right. But still, he just couldn't trust her… She still was a mystery and something like a ghost or the boogieman to him…

Just as he wanted to comfort and apologize to her, the swordsman stood right in front of him, Wadou unsheathed and in level of Sanji's throat.

"Just one more word and Angel has a second ´Mommy.´" he growled lowly.

"Hey, don't interrupt shit-head! She has to learn that she cannot run around like mad and scream over the whole ship so that the whole Red Line knows where we are! This is a pirate ship, not a kindergarten class!" Sanji growled back, the apology completely forgotten.

Angel was still crying, but now she looked in horror at her parents, who actually were starting a real, serious fight. And AGAIN it was because of her and today no amount tears would stop them she knew. Her Daddy had crossed a line he should not cross, well, actually her Mommy thought so. And so they started to fight, not noticing the crying girl who was now in the arms of her big brother, who hugged her from behind. He also yelled at the two to stop the fight and not to scare Angel more than they just had. But also his "Captain's order" was unheard by the two of them, as iron worked shoes kicked into a green-haired head and a sharp Katana drew through black pants into the pale flesh of a leg.

Angel couldn't look anymore at the two fighting men; she closed her eyes. Again something…dark welled up inside of her: a dark, cold cloud of hatred and fear, trying to reach the surface of her soul. And just as the two men stopped for a second, panting heavily, forehead on forehead and screamed into each other's faces:

"I HATE YOU!!!"

She suddenly opened her eyes and bit down into her bigger brother's right arm. It hadn't been a hard bite but still, she had bit him…

"Ouch!" he yelled, "Angel just bit me!!"

The fight between the two men stopped immediately. They looked back at Angel in horror; she had a devilish grin on her face. Robin had also made her way over to the group. She had noticed the change of expressions in Angel's face and how she started to grin and bite down into Luffy's arm. With a low "Hmm…" unnoticed by the other crewmembers she turned around and made her way down to her bibliotheca. Robin had started to watch Angel every time Sanji and Zoro had started a fight, noticing every little change of Angel's mood. Now she had some more investigation to do…

"Angel, why are you biting me?" Luffy asked the back of Angel's head sadly. The little girl stopped grinning, blinked two, three times and noticed that the fight between her parents had stopped and the anger and the hate between the two was completely forgotten and replaced by negative surprise.

She looked surprised in the faces of her parents and then looked down on her brother's arm. There was nothing to be seen but a little, slight red mark as if someone had scratched him lightly. The cold, dark cloud in her mind washed back into the depth of her soul and was also replaced by negative surprise. She placed her left hand up on the spot on his arm and turned her head around to look into Luffy's face. With tears running down her cheeks she turned around completely and hugged Luffy tight around his waist (he had knelt down behind her), standing between his legs.

"Sowy, bwotha, Angel sowy!!!" she choked out between sobs.

"Stop crying Angel! I forgive you, it's alright!" Luffy smiled down at her, patting her head lightly.

"Now you see what you've caused, cook? Are you happy now?" Zoro growled, facing the cook.

"Pfft! It is not my fault the little brat bit our captain!" Sanji growled back.

"You scared her and she didn't know what to do."

"You—" Sanji started but was suddenly interrupted by the harsh voice of his captain.

"STOP it you two! That's enough! You scared her enough for one day! Who is the grown-up here, you two or her?" Luffy growled. Sanji and Zoro looked surprised at Luffy's face. He looked completely serious, almost angry. It was very, VEEEEEEEERY rare for him to let the serious captain hang out and when he did both of them knew it was enough. So they just shot each another an angry gaze and walked away. Sanji went back into the Galley and Zoro walked over to Angel.

"Hey, Angel!" he said, kneeling aside her and his captain. "Stop crying! Would you like to play ball with me and your big brother?"

Angel turned around and looked up into Zoro's eyes. A last, single tear running down her cheek, her face brightened immediately.

"Yes, Mommy! Ball!!" she cheered up to him.

At the word ´Mommy´ a vein popped out on Zoro's forehead. He shot his captain, who was grinning madly, a: ´don't-turn-your-back-on-me-for-the-next-few-weeks´- look and lifted her up into his arms. He already had tried to tell her that he was not ´Mommy´ but ´Father´ or ´Dad´ or something along those lines, but she still was too young to understand that her oh-so-beloved brother had taught her shit!

Galley

Sanji slammed the door of the Galley tightly shut behind him. He walked over to one of the chairs before the table and let himself fall down into it. He closed his eyes and grunted in pain. He felt dizzy, his whole world was spinning around him and his head ached in pain, just like his injured left leg. It wasn't badly injured, only a small cut through the flesh on the side of his upper thigh, but it still HURT! He placed his head in his hands and tried to ignore the nausea in his stomach. Maybe he really should go to Chopper. The little reindeer ran away in fear when Sanji had yelled at them the first time. But the cook actually felt too weak to even move… But this fact suddenly counted no more when a loud call from Usopp came to his ear:

" MARINEEE ~!!!"

"Shit!" Sanji murmured to himself and stood up, just to sway and to fall back into the chair behind him.

"Shit, shit, SHIT!!!" the blond man again stood up, this time more carefully so as not to fall back into the chair again due to another dizziness spinning in his head.

Sanji ran out of the galley. Two Marine- ships were already near the Sunny, the first Marine- soldiers entering the ship. Even Usopp wasn´t able to see the Marines through the fog since it was too late. Up on the ship you were able to see most of the deck. But on the sea you were not able to see farther than about 20 meters.

In about five minutes the complete Sunny was a whole fighting- area. Sanji actually fought against two of the Marines, knocking them off cold with his legs. He looked around the deck in fear just to see a green-haired swordsman fighting with a crowd of about twenty soldiers. One of them was about 4 meters tall and looked as if he was able to break a man in half with one of his hands. The Marimo was jumping and spinning and slashing through flesh, shouting ´Oni Giri´ and ´36 pound canon´.

Angel was nowhere to be seen. But, she was always with the swordsman. Where was she? Sanji frowned, still looking at the Marimo as three other Marines ran up to him. Again Sanji knocked two of them out cold. With the third one he had real problems. He felt more and more dizzy and his left leg was burning where Zoro had injured him before. But finally this soldier was also knocked out by a spin of Sanji's long legs. Frowning, Sanji looked around just to yell at the shitty swordsman in front of him who was still fighting with the tall, Marine soldier:

"Where is she?"

"We…have… been… SEPERATED!!!" he panted and finally screamed the last word back to Sanji as he was able to cut through two soldiers in one slash. "She is with… Nami! Can you-"

"I'll go get them!" Sanji interrupted, screaming over the sound of the fight. But, where were they?

Sanji looked around on deck of the Sunny. He heard a loud, happy yell from one of the ships. Luffy seemed to be having his fun with a whole Marine ship on the right side of the Sunny. Usopp was also firing firebombs on the ship on the right side, Chopper protecting him from the marines that attacked from behind. ´_I hope he knows what he is doing and doesn't hit Luffy...´_ Sanji thought. After that he ran forward again. Now he stood in the middle of the deck on Franky's beloved meadow. Franky would cry at the sight of it at the end of this fight... It was covered in blood and damaged in several spots all over the deck. Knocking two other soldiers off, Sanji heard a loud ´_Crack´_ from the ship on the left side. He saw Robin and Franky on board the ship, Franky, protected by Robin, hugging the mast, trying to break it; it looked like he would be successful. Brook was nowhere to be seen. Then he heard Nami yell in pain, his head spinning around, just to see her and Angel at the other side of the deck.

Nami lay unconscious on the deck, Angel bent over her. He started to run towards them, as he saw a soldier throwing a knife in Angel's direction, directed at her head. At this point everything went in slow motion. Sanji had the feeling he wasn't able to run as fast as he wanted, not able to close the gap between the knife and Angel. He screamed her name as Angel looked up to him, just as he was close to her he reached out his hand and the knife went right through his left palm. The cook hissed in pain, the speed of time back to normal. He now stood before Angel and Nami in his fighting position, holding his injured left hand and pulled the knife out carefully.

"To throw a knife at a helpless baby! How DARE you, you fucking ASSHOLE!?!" Sanji screamed in the direction of the grinning soldier.

Sanji, running towards the man, and didn't notice the second soldier beside him, who now made his way towards Angel and the navigator on the deck. Sanji had just knocked off the knife-thrower with a roundhouse kick, his blood full of adrenaline- (he felt no dizziness right now) as he heard the fearful call of Angel behind him:

"_**DADDY!!!**_" she screamed behind his back.

Also Zoro turned around as he heard the call of the little girl. His anger just fuelled by the sight of Angel: she was held by a Marine soldier with his arm over her throat, her back pressed against his chest; she tried to hold herself up in his arm, her little fingers digging into the arm over her throat. She struggled with her little legs against the belly of her capturer. The soldier behind Zoro tried to use the chance to get a hit at the Marimo, just to get killed immediately by a three-sword attack. Zoro started to run in Sanji's, Angel's, and Nami's direction just to stop immediately, his jaw practically hitting the deck, as he heard and saw the cook…

"_**DON´T YOU DARE TO TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!!!**_" the blonde screamed.

Suddenly flames shot up all around him, beginning at his feet, surrounding him completely in about one second. After that, everything seemed to happen at the same time. Angel saw her Daddy, covered in flames. A red light started to glow in her eyes in the second the flames shot out of Sanji, as she bit down as hard as possible, drawing blood. The previously grinning soldier yelled in pain and loosened his grip- BIIIG mistake! Angel, with a strength she herself even didn't know where it came from, turned in his grip, now her hands against his chest, lifting her right leg and kicking the "poor" soldier as hard as she could in his stomach. The man lost all his breath and stumbled two, three steps back- in that time Angel fell to the ground upon the (honestly) poor navigator beneath her. Just as she hit Nami with her back in her stomach (who was now conscious again, caused by the harsh interruption of her sweet unconsciousness), she saw her father, still covered in flames, feeling the heat he was emitting flying over her and the red-head. The little girl didn't see the attack but heard an ugly ´_CRACK_' sound from the direction of the soldier.

Zoro had seen it… The cook flew over Angel and Nami, his right leg before him. He kicked the soldier right into his head; he never had a chance. His head cracked open, spilling a huge amount of blood and… other things Zoro didn't want to imagine. He was dead before he hit the deck. The cook landed behind the dead soldier. He swayed a little but started to fight as ten other soldiers surrounded the small group. Sanji knocked them all off in no time, kicking, burning, breaking, ripping flesh apart, jumping and spinning around the deck; and Zoro still stared, his mouth still open. Something in him welled slowly up on the surface. He had seen the cook fighting several times before but never like this. This—this was… _beautiful_… In a very sick and cruel way of course, but still beautiful. How he was spinning around, every move seemed practiced only for this one fight. It was almost as if he was dancing… In a way it was HOT! Sanji actually fought with everything he had; he didn't hold back and after a while Zoro understood why the cook was so unbelievable good: he tried to protect the two vulnerable persons at his feet; he tried to protect Nami and Angel, he tried to protect his _DAUGHTER_!

It is a wonder that the Thousand Sunny, after Sanji's fight had ended, still had a green-haired swordsman. Since Sanji's fight, he hadn't moved one single muscle in his body. But now he awoke out of his stupor as he saw the blond man swaying again, falling down to his knees and hitting the deck face first.

"Shit!" Zoro hissed, running to the small group, killing three more soldiers on his way…

XXX

Nami sat in the infirmary, a white bandage around her head, and Angel sleeping peacefully in her lap. Nami had gotten hit hard on the back of her head by a flying piece of wood from the ship Luffy and Usopp were ripping apart. It was an accident, and Usopp, and especially Luffy, couldn't have been more sorry. They bowed and apologized before her several times, Luffy never leaving her side since Chopper was treating her wounds. He had looked into her eyes with this puppy look that she never was able to resist for very long. Well, she hadn't been too angry from the start, but still added 2,000 Berri to their debts of the two for easy money... She had been passed out for just a few minutes and hadn't received anything other than a headache and a scratch on the back of her head. It would be healed in a few days. But she got something else from this fight she had never expected she would have liked that much; she actually was really enjoying it.

She earned Angels trust.

The little girl in her lap shifted a little, drooling out of the right corner of her mouth in her sleep, smacking her lips twice. Nami looked down to Angels face. They sat facing the direction of the infirmary bed, where a still passed out cook was sleeping peacefully. Nami smirked at the sight of Angel's delicate face, just right now looking completely like Zoro when he was asleep. She just couldn't get over, despite the fact that she looked like Zoro, how cute she was. Did that mean she would think that Zoro was also cute when he was fast asleep…? At the thought of a green, sweaty, hairy, drooling swordsman she shivered slightly. No, it was just cute when the drooling expression was paired with golden-blonde hair and a half-hidden, closed eye and tiny, pink lips.

The door of the infirmary behind her back suddenly swung open quietly. Chopper and Zoro appeared in the doorway, walking into the room.

"How is he?" Chopper asked.

"He hasn't even moved." Nami answered lowly.

Zoro looked down at the sight of the little girl in Nami's lap.

"I think it is time for her to go to bed. It's been a hard two days, though." He picked the little girl up, out of Nami's lap.

Nami stood up and ran her fingers through the hair of the girl in Zoro's arms, smiling weakly. Zoro noticed the sad expression on the navigator's face but didn't respond. Only because Angel trusted the damn witch now it doesn't meant he had to like her more than before. Nami looked one last time at the girl and went out of the infirmary.

When she first entered her room she noticed the tears running down her face. She cupped her mouth with her right hand, trembling slightly, and started to sob through sharply inhaled breathes. After she had held the baby in her arms it was the first time in her life that she finally understood what Arlong had taken away from her…What she NEVER would be able to have in her own life by herself…

XXX

Sanji was unconscious for about two days; or better to say Chopper sedated him after the fight had ended and Zoro and Nami had brought him to the infirmary. The little doctor knew exactly that, once the cook was awake, he wouldn't take the time he needed to rest to become healthy again. So, after two days of deep, dreamless sleep, Sanji came slowly back to consciousness, with the biggest headache he has ever had! But still, he felt better: his fever was down and the cold almost over, too. He hadn't been injured too badly (his left palm was cut right through and the nerves hadn't been damaged, so it wouldn't need long to heal and he would be able to use it again in a few days) in the fight with the Marines and the cut from the fight with the idiot before was almost healed. It was the exhaustion of the fever that had caused his breakdown, and he would be healthy in one or two days, thanks to Choppers medication.

The first time the cook opened his eyes, he closed them tight again immediately. A low whimper left his throat as flashes of pain ran through his left eye and his left temple. Lying on his back, he squirmed under the white, bright light of the infirmary lamp on the ceiling and tried to turn around as slowly as possible to flee from the light and the pain. He heard somebody beside his bed move and after a low ´click´ the light was shut off. Only a dark lamp at the headboard of the bed was still on and sent a warm, yellow light into the room.

"The light is off, shit-cook" a deep, calm, oh-so-well-known voice grunted and informed him of the obvious.

The cook couldn't help himself but whimpered as he turned his head around into the direction of the grunt. He slowly, SLOWLY opened his eye only to see a shitty swordsman next to his bed, sitting on a chair. Zoro had his arms crossed before his chest and sat with his legs wide open, somehow stiff upon it. His eyebrows were furrowed and he shot Sanji a gaze as if he would like to intensify his whimpers of pain with the help of a well-placed fist into his face…

"Wh-Where am I?" the cook asked softly.

"In the infirmary, where else, idiot?" Zoro grunted back.

"Where… Angel…? Is she…?"

"She is alright. Angel is lying next to you."

The cook tried to look down on his side but as he shifted his head only the slightest he started to feel dizzy, a light nausea spreading through his stomach. So he just reached his left hand out to feel the fabric of a dress and a warm, slowly rising and falling chest next to him. He should have noticed the heat the girl was emitting earlier but had been too preoccupied with his own suffering.

"Thirsty…" the cook whispered lowly.

Again that shifting- sound, as a rough hand came behind his head and a cup of water was held to his dry lips.

"Slowly, just one sip by time, Chopper said…" the Marimo commanded.

After his throat didn't feel like a desert anymore and the hand and the cup had disappeared, the cook asked what happened after he passed out.

"Nami regained consciousness as Angel fell on her. As you passed out, Nami and I had to fight several Marines to rescue your sorry ass and Angel was sitting beside you as if she was trying to protect you by herself… She was so frightened that you would never wake up again! Luffy, Robin and I needed about two hours to comfort her and still we weren't able to calm her down completely, until Chopper told her that you would just need your rest and that everything would be alright after all.

At that point he shot the cook again the ´_I- would- like- to- rearrange- your- face- right- now´- _look. Sanji twitched slightly under his gaze.

"She was with you in the infirmary for the whole two days you were asleep."

"TWO DAYS?!?" Sanji asked louder than he had wanted, shooting his head up- and regretted it immediately. A sharp pain shot through his left eye and his temple, he moaned in pain and cupped the left side of his face with his hand. He squirmed under the pain and had a real hard time to hold himself back from vomiting. Suddenly he felt a warm, little hand upon his left.

"Daddy ouch afta all!" a high, calm voice asserted.

The cook wasn't able to answer for several moments. He tried to calm himself down as he felt the warmth of the little hand running along his injured left palm, immediately easing the pain in his left eye. Sanji furrowed his brows, still squirming in pain. Angel pulled his hand away just to lay down her own, warm palm under his bangs, directly upon his left eye.

"Daddy betta soon! Choppa say so!" Angel said quietly, her voice ringing in his ears.

The pain subsided slowly as he felt the warmth of her hand spreading through his whole eye, it seemed as if it would directly flow into the knots of injured nerves and flesh he had over his left side. Breathing more evenly now, the young man reached up to the little girls hand and cupped it with his own.

"Thank you, honey, it is better now…" he said softly. Angel pulled her hand away, but the warmth seemed to stay. She stroked the bangs on his left side back over his eye and looked down on him with a warm smile.

"Daddy betta now?" she asked.

"Yeah, Daddy better. What about you, honey?"

"Angel tiad! Can Angel sleep here?"

"Of course you can, honey. Just lay back down." he hugged her around her waist as she used his other arm as a pillow. He rolled on his side to face her, as Angel snuggled herself into his chest with her face. She was asleep within seconds- ´_one point for Marimo-DNA´_ he thought as he watched the little girl in her sleep. He bent himself down to the golden-blond hair and nuzzled into it lightly, to smell an intoxicating scent of strawberries, chocolate, flowers and earth. Sanji had to admit to himself that it was the best scent he ever was allowed to smell; it was his favorite.

"Honey…?" a low, dark voice asked.

Sanji flinched slightly and looked up into the Marimo's face. Still that look… Had the man in front of him completely forgotten?

"Yes, honey… Wanna say something?"

"What about ´Brat´ or ´Ghost´, ´Demon´, ´Boogieman´ or-"

"Okay, okay, I got your point!" Sanji hissed. "Maybe… She is not as bad as I thought…" he added in a low whisper, almost inaudible.

"AHA! You like her you asshole! And what's with the whole damn ´_you-are-a-brat_´ thing?!?"

"She is still not my daughter, if that's what you mean!" now the blond man really flinched back, trying not to wake Angel in his arms. The Marimo shot him a look, Sanji was sure if they had been all alone he would have a Katana against his throat right now.

"Shut up, shit-cook! Don't talk such nonsense! That Angel was concerned and sad and thought it would have been all her fault is YOUR fault!" he hissed.

"Her fault? What-"

"You told her that this is a pirate ship and no Kindergarten-class and that she would alert all the Marines on the Red Line if she wouldn't be quieter!"

Sanji's eyes widened. Of course he wasn't serious when he said that, he was just angry at that moment. If loud, outraged playing would call the Marines, they would fight every fleet of Marines in the East and North Blue, together with the Marines of the Grand and Red Line every day, thanks to their crazy captain!

"You will apologize to her and tell her that you said complete shit when she wakes up the next time and that it is not her fault that you had been injured, or else she REALLY will have another Mommy, soon!"

As much as the cook would have liked to, he wasn't able to respond, the moss-head was right.

After several minutes had passed, the swordsman's face softened slowly.

"Angel really loves you…" he said softly, with a sorrowful voice. Sanji looked at him in surprise, his eye wide.

"When you call her a brat or something else or yells at her, she is always so sad afterwards. Sometimes she came to me, just to hug me around my leg, even during my workout and asked me, why you don't like her… But you like her, don't you?"

"Like I said, she is not my daugh-" suddenly Zoro slammed his fist upon the table next to him. Angel jerked in her sleep, but didn't wake up- 2:0 for Marimo vs. Cook-DNA.

"I told you to SHUT UP, asshole!!" he hissed angrily. "I saw you fighting! You've never, I tell you NEVER been that good before in your life!"

"There was Nami-" suddenly Zoro's face was just a few centimeters away from his own, their breathes mingling together. The cook went bright red at the close contact, somehow sending goose bumps down his spine, but wasn't able to move his head, it was still aching like hell.

"Of course you tried to protect Nami, too. But she wasn't that important to you at that moment, was she? If you had to decide at that moment whether to protect Nami or Angel, I am sure you would have kicked Nami's ass out of sight and protected your daughter!" Zoro practically spit in his face.

The cook stared in shock into the swordsman's green eyes, now almost black with anger and the dim light in the room. Suddenly he remembered a moment he hadn't remembered before… Sanji furrowed his brows. He had killed the knife- thrower and after that…? His memories were somehow clouded after this moment, but… He had seen Angel, heard her fearful call… YES! THAT was what the Marimo meant! He had turned around and saw her fearful face, her little body violently pressed to a broad chest of a soldier. He grinned like insane and had a long knife in his hand…

´_DON'T YOU DARE TO TOUCH MY DAUGHTER_´

Again no response from the cook. So Zoro sat back down into his chair.

"What did she mean, cook?" the swordsman asked after some minutes.

"Huh?"

"She said: ´_Daddy ouch after all_´ as she touched your face… What did she mean?" the Marimo hadn't been able see to the face of the cook out of his position.

"Nothing important… I just had a headache some days ago and lied to her that I hadn't…" sweat broke out over his forehead.

"……I don't believe you, cook!" Zoro said calmly, but didn't push him further.

He knew that the cook was very delicate when it came to the bangs of hair covering his left side. One day he had asked Chopper what was up to this side, the little reindeer was their doctor after all and so Zoro thought he would have seen it, but also Chopper had to admit, that the Question had never showed him. The whole crew was curious and one day, before Angel, back at the Merry, Usopp and Luffy had tried to find out what was behind them. So Luffy had grabbed the cook and Usopp, who didn't dare to come near the spiting and swearing blonde shot a ball of chewing- gum right into his hair over his eye. No one, not even the best coiffeur in the Grand- Line would have been able to rescue the ruined bangs. After that their cook had disappeared for about two months. As he came back, his bangs were all right again, no one knew how he had managed it. Maybe something like a catalyst for hair- growing?

Sanji didn't respond. Silence fell over them and some minutes later Zoro heard a light snore, coming from the blond man. It would have been easy now to draw the bangs in his face aside, but Zoro didn't move one finger. They all had their little secrets after all…

XXX

Far, far away from the life on the Sunny, on an uninhabited island, deep down in an old cave, under a huge mountain, something moved and opened its eyes slowly. Finally, finally it was awake… It yawned loudly, stretching its digits, pulling at the heavy chains which held it back. It wrinkled its snout and sniffed the old, stale air from the hole. There it was… Finally… Miles and miles away, but- there it was… A loud, outraged growl, full of hatred slipped through gritted teeth. It pulled again on its chains, holding it back for thousands and thousands of years. They would only split apart, when the time was right. And it knew it. The time had come… Slowly standing upon stiff legs, it started to pull more seriously on its chains. Thousands of years old chains sighed under violent strength just to break apart as it thought they would. A loud growl of joy, though it sounded like nothing this world had ever heard, came out of its throat. It started to climb, climb out of this cave, out of its prison, out, just out of here, into the sun of an innocent, unprepared world…

Dark clouds spread over the whole island and made their way ever so slowly to finally meet a certain little girl one day in the future upon a ship with a lion head…


	6. Month three

Still not own One Piece, still not making money with this! Hope you like it!

Warnings: Yaoi, language, angst, embarrassing situations and SPIDERSSSSS!!!

Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Please review and be gentle! Reviews are welcome! Thx!

"**Hi! I hope you will enjoy this chapter! It is not betaed yet, but I will upload the betaed version as soon as I got it. My poor beta and I are busy with school and exams, so I thought I´ll upload it now, before I´ve got no time anymore. Next chapter maybe will need some time… Even if not betaed, ENJOY!"**

**Month three**

Angel was now about 3 and a half years old- which meant about twelve weeks of being a straw-hat- pirate. After the Marines had attacked the first time and Sanji had been injured, the cook needed about three days to tell her, that it REALLY wasn´t her fault that they had been attacked and that his left hand now had two scars more- one on the upside and one in his palm. They were going to be attacked one more time, but this time they had already seen them as they had been still far away. So they were able to bring Angel under deck and to hide her in one of the stocking- rooms. Sanji was with her to protect her or to rescue her out and off the ship if something would go terribly wrong. But the fight hadn´t become that serious, after they had kicked some soldiers asses the Captain of the ship decided it would be actually better to run than to drown and so they left a somehow unsatisfied Rubber and his first mate back on the Sunny.

The cook also had started to treat his "Honey" better in front of the crew. Zoro had been very surprised as Angel had told him one day as she was watching his daily workout, that Sanji had this nickname for her already before the first attack.

Brook was still the same… He just couldn´t figure out what was wrong with him… As he watched her playing or napping on deck or doing something else pretty childish, he couldn´t despite the fact that she was a cute, innocent little girl… But- SOMETHING was just odd (other than the fact that she had two men as parents and was born out of a treasure- chest and that she was growing like insane, of course…). He just somehow felt uncomfortable in her presence… So he avoided her as much as possible, even if he would protect her when it had to be done.

One night he wasn´t able to sleep and wandered around on deck of the Sunny, as suddenly a calm, female voice called his name.

"Brook- san. Why are still up so late?" the beautiful raven- haired archeologist asked him, standing at the railing in front of him. He hadn´t even recognized her, had he just been too deep in his own thoughts.

"Oh, Robin- san! What a wonderful surprise to see you at such a great night full of stars…- may I see your panties? YOHOHOHO-" he suddenly stopped.

"Robin- san can I ask you something serious?"

"Of course you can, Brook- san. What is bothering you?"

"Angel…" he said simply.

"Ah, I see. You are avoiding her…"

"Yes, I do and that´s the point. Were you actually able to figure out what the text from the chest meant? You haven´t talked much about lately…"

Robin looked at him for a long moment.

"Before I answer your question, please tell me why you are avoiding her…?"

"… I don´t know…" he walked to her side, leaning himself upon the railing. It had been a very long time since he had a normal, serious conversation, but somehow it felt too important to ruin the moment with stupid jokes or inappropriate behavior.

"I just feel uncomfortable when I am close to her but I cannot figure out why, though."

"Do you think she is something evil? A danger?"

"No, definitely not. I think she is just an innocent, cute little girl… and something more… And she is growing so fast…" concern swung within his voice now. "So- do you answer me now?"

Again a very long, serious look.

"I was able to translate some of the words of the chest, but still not enough to get a clear picture. I know that we will soon reach a winter island which has got a huge bibliotheca, a habitant of the last island told me. It´s supposed to be very old and good sorted so I hope I can find out something more. But- I have watched her lately…"

"And?"

"… I don´t know… I know that the text on the chest says mainly the same things as the text on the coffer- cast. Something about a war, Angels and Demons and that Love and Hate are going hand in hand… But it says something more and I just can´t figure out what it means… But- Angels behavior with cook- san and swordsman- san…"

"Cute, aren´t they?"

She looked at him, somehow surprised.

"Yes, they are… But- still… When the both of them are fighting…. Sometimes she is laughing. But when they are fighting serious… It is as if she isn´t herself at this very moment. The last time they started a serious fight, Angel bit Luffy and grinned afterwards…"

"What do you mean?"

"I think they are somehow connected… The feelings of cook- san, swordsman- san and Angel… At least she is made out of their DNA, so why shouldn´t their souls also be connected? Well, I think I just should make more investigations, though." Robin answered.

XXX

Galley

It was warm inside of this room.

But no food. Not one little bite…

So it had to leave now. It´s nest where it was warm and dry to finally find a new home where was more food to come by.

It started to climb down, down furthermore to the noises of the big creatures. Maybe it could there find more food. They were so huge so surely there had to be more…

It was starving for weeks now and it couldn´t hold out any longer… At the level of the tiniest and least scary of the big creatures it came to a halt, wondering whether to ask if it might have seen food or just to go on in its path. But there wasn´t much choice for it, because one moment later the tiniest turned around to it, and as the eyes of the tiniest fixed on it, slowly filled with understanding and recognition, the tiniest of the scary big creatures started to scream…

XXX

You were able to hear Angel scream through the whole Galley were she had been with her Daddy, watching him preparing Dinner for the crew. She sat on the counter and almost fell off of it, as she saw IT crawling slowly down the wall. It wasn´t more than a few centimeters away from her face, as she was leaning against the wall…

As she screamed she also was heard outside on deck where Zoro just had one of his daily workouts.

You´ve never seen such a fast swordsman!

And so, as he reached the Galley and looked inside the room, Wadou unsheathed in his hand he was able to see the almost cutest and embarrassing moment in the life of a little girl and a certain cook…

Both of his blondes stood there, in the corner of a room, shivering and pale and the biggest house- spider Zoro had ever seen was hanging on one of the walls of the Galley… Angel hugged her Daddys legs so the cook wasn´t able to move, but he seemed ok with that, because he had the same look like Angel in his face.

"Make it go away, Daddy! It is ugly!" Angel whined, looking up to the blond man´s face.

"I- I can´t, honey… I can´t move… Oi, Marimo! You have to kill the spider!"

"No, don´t kill! Make it go away, don´t kill, Mommy" Angel whined again.

Zoro stood there, disbelief in his face as he looked into the cooks face. Suddenly he understood… Zoro didn´t like spiders, either, but they weren´t disgusting, he thought. The swordsman in the doorway misinterpreted the behavior of the little girl and the cook as disgust.

An evil grin spread up on Zoros face.

"Oi, cook! I can take Angel and you can get a glass to catch the spider, ok?" he said, every word dripping with humor as he grinned to the blonde, pale man in front of him.

"Oi, I think it is better when YOU catch it… I have to hold Angel, you know- I can´t move now…" he said, sweat breaking out on his forehead, still trying to sound as cool as possible.

You´ve never seen such a fast child!

Her ´Mommy´ stood in the doorway, which was farther away from the big, hairy insect and so she let go of the cook and ran straight to Zoro, through his legs and out of the kitchen…

This left a very bewildered, sweating cook and a VERY pleased swordsman…

Sanji looked back to the grinning man in front of the door.

"Well, I´ll take care of Angel," Zoro grinned and turned around- SLOWLY…

"Oi, wait!" the cook yelled, still trying to sound calm.

"Yeeeees~?" Zoro turned around, still smirking. "Is there a problem, ´_Daddy´_?" he asked.

Sanji stared at the smirking figure in the door, anger welling up inside of him.

"Oi, shithead, there´s no problem, I-" at this moment the spider decided that Sanji now was the one of the big creatures who was the least scary person in the room and started to crawl forward in his direction. The blonde man looked at the moving spider in disgust and horror…

You´ve never seen such a fast cook!

Sanji, jerking back from the corner in the near of the counter, running through the Galley, tried to take the same way as Angel did- through Zoros legs who still stood in the way of the door. Well, at least he tried to…

We all know, when it came up to Sanji, Zoro and their ´_friendship_´ they never let go of a chance to torture each other… And this situation was practically MADE for a very sadistic, green– haired swordsman. Zoro still thought the captured cook in between his legs would just be disgusted by the view of a big, hairy spider. He wasn´t aware of the panic in the cooks eyes as he pulled the blond man up on his feet just to push him, his arms captured in his hands in the direction of the spider, which already had made its way down to the floor of the Galley and was now crawling into their direction.

"O- Oi, shit- head! Watcha doin´?" Sanji asked; panic now clearly in his voice.

"I´ll go get a glass and you´ll catch the spider." he said smirking, but not able to move anymore forward, because the cook pushed him more and more in the direction of the door, never leaving the moving _´monster´ _with his eyes.

"N- No, I- I don´t want to!" he stuttered, pushing harder to get away from the spider behind his back.

Zoro still smirked. "Why not, it is just a little-" he never ended the sentence.

The spider was now almost at Sanjis legs, just about one meter away. At that point the cook really panicked and decided to throw every self- control and pride overboard. Zoro already knew that he didn´t like those insects and would never going to let life him that down. The cook, not able to get out of the steel grip of the swordsman, also not able to get farther away from the spider, made a shrieking sound and suddenly hugged the man in front of him tight around his neck, jumping up and hugging the Marimos waist with his legs. He buried his face in the crook of Zoros neck and shuddered like a leave in the wind, not able to move.

That left a very bewildered and blushing swordsman…

"O- Oi, cook! Oi! Get off of me, shit- cook!!!" he yelled, trying to get rid of the blond pain in the ass. Sanji just hugged him tighter.

"1:2 for Cook vs. Marimo- DNA…" Sanji mumbled. The spider had stopped in front of the two men.

"What?" Zoro asked.

"… I don´t like them" Sanji mumbled, still in Zoros neck.

"Obvious…" the swordsman sighed.

He never had thought the cook would be that frightened before spiders. At Skypea in the forest he had sometimes become VERY fast when he had seen one of them, but they had been as big as his head and the cook had just said that they were ugly and disgusting and "Who knows if they are toxic?"…

Zoro wanted nothing more than to push the idiot off of him, but as he felt how the cook shivered he just couldn´t do it. He suddenly was very aware of the warm, surprisingly light body around him, the tight embrace and the shuddering, warm breath in his neck and blushed deeply. Zoro never had been so close to another person but Angel…

_´What´s up with me? It´s just the ero- cook! I shouldn´t blush now I should kick the perverts ass for entering my personal space!´_ he thought.

He sighed, turned around and walked to the door of the Galley, where he pushed the cook off as fast as possible. After that he turned back to catch a certain spider, still red up to his ears…

Two days later the cook was still pissed! He wasn´t angry about Zoro in particular, he was angrier about himself, showing this weakness in front of the Marimo. Well, ok- Zoro made it not easier at all. He teased the blond man as often as possible. One time he tickled the cook with a feather in his neck as he was fast asleep and yelled "Spider" as he woke up… This prank was honored with a kick in his head and two VERY pissed blondes who didn´t speak to him for one day. As he finally apologized to Angel (not to the cook, of course! He had his pride and it had just been too funny to see a pale, scared wanna- be- pervert) she frowned at him and said that that wasn´t funny and if he would ever do it again, she would never talk to him again…

XXX

Angel watched her ´Mommy´ in awe. It was just so damn amazing how he waved these swords around. She really wished he would show her how to do it. She also watched her Daddy in awe when he was fighting with her Mommy, how he was spinning around, kicking and jumping as if it wasn´t exhausting at all… She wished both of her parents would show her how to do this…

She watched Zoros training as often as she could, when she was not playing with her brother, aunts and uncles or helped her Daddy in the kitchen. It was fascinating, how her Mommy concentrated on every single movement.

"Hey, Honey! It´s time to go!" a low voice behind her back said.

She turned around just to see her Daddy standing behind her. They wanted to go to the market today on the island they had arrived yesterday. There also was a big playground, where Sanji had planned to go. It was a surprise for Angel. She had never seen a playground, nor other children- heaven, she had never even been on LAND before! So she stood up and ran over to her Mommy who already had sheathed his swords. Zoro sat her up onto his shoulders and made his way over to the cook. They didn´t even have eye- contact. Sanji was still too embarrassed about the encounter in the kitchen and Zoro still too bewildered about the feeling of the warm, light body of the cook around his upper body. So they walked in silence through the town. Angel had noticed the silence and wasn´t able to enjoy her first land- visit with her parents completely. She still was worried they wouldn´t go along with each other long anymore. And then it would come back… The bad, dark feeling inside her and then maybe she would hurt her brother or her parents or someone else again… She shook her head and concentrated on the ´market´ in front of her view.

It was a loud, colorful place with hundreds of people. Tall, small, thin, thick, man, woman, old, young, black, white- everything was there. And there also were so many different scents in the air. Some of them she already knew from her Daddies cooking. Fish, basilica, fried vegetables- everything mixed up with the scent of all the people around them. It almost made her dizzy- it was overwhelming!

And just the slightest frightening… There were so many people around her, so many strangers… She tensed at the thought of the crowd and buried her face in her Mommies hair. He also was a little tense, but controlled. His hair smelled like peppermint- shampoo- his and her favorite- and like sweat and the sun…

"Oi, Angel- are you alright?" her Mommy asked.

"Yes, Mommy- Angel alwighd!" she lied, not wanting to end the day on this island and her private moment alone with her parents.

Sanji turned around and looked up to her face, noticing the slight tortured look. Maybe she needed a break? The market was full today and Angel had never seen so many people before. So he decided to go to the playground right now. He already had been on the island yesterday to stock up and just needed trivial things which he could also get later. So he turned back around and leaded Angel and the shit- head to the playground on the outskirts of the town.

There were other children, too but they were elder than Angel, the youngest of them was about seven years old.

But there also were…

"Beautiful Ladies!!!" Sanji yelled, hearts popping out of his eyes, suddenly wobbling around, jumping to every mother on the brink of the playground.

Angel watched after him, somehow puzzled, her mouth open.

"Daddy ill?" she asked her Mommy, who hoisted her down off his shoulders.

"… Yes, Daddy very ill- it´s called the ´_love- cook- influenca- idiota- completica´_." he smirked. Luckily the ´_ill´_ cook had overheard the comment.

Angel hugged Zoros left leg and tried to hide herself behind it as the seven year old boy ran into their direction, asking Angel if she would like to play with him.

XXX

Far away at the uninhabited island

It had killed the entire Fauna of the island where it woke up one week ago. It had been very hungry after thousands of years of starvation. After the first day it had already stilled its hunger, the rest of the island just had been fun and training… Oh, just how wonderful it was to wrench every little drop of blood and soul out of its victims. How they were screaming in fear and pain, reaching their limits of voices when it drew off their life- light as slowly as possible, enjoying every little drop of agony.

But now it was time to leave the island. It had its fun and now it would search for the light and the darkness its target had emitted just some days ago. It wrinkled its snout in the wind to catch the low dim of scent and energy which was now fading slowly. There it was again, almost invisible now, but still there- far, far away on the sea. So it made its way through the dead jungle of the island, its pure presence also already killing the flora on it. The dark, black clouds over the island wouldn´t leave with it, just spread out farther onto the sea, reaching every island with the creature and leaving them in darkness to finally kill every little hint of life on them.

At the beach it turned around, looking one last time at its now empty prison and with a howl of joy it dove into the sea to find the little hint of energy and the light scent of chocolate, strawberries and love.

XXX

One week later

Caleb was working hard on the fields of his father. His father was old and left the whole farm to his son's hands just some months ago. He never had been able to trust anyone but himself with his work of life and so Caleb was more proud than exhausted that his father had finally let him overtake the farm. And soon he would get married, too! Rose, the beautiful daughter of their mayor loved him more than anything else.

Caleb almost got a nosebleed at the thought of her beautiful brown hair, like dark chocolate with hints of gold in it sparkling in the sun. Bright, brown eyes staring into his, deep down to the bottom of his soul. Her lips tasted like honey and her slightly tanned flesh was soft and hot under his hands. And soon Rose would be his!

It was hot today, the sun burning on his body, his skin already had a healthy brown color, leaving the last hard and long winter behind. His from work well defined, tall body was glistening in sweat, his short, black hair cleaving to his head. A single streak hung in his left, black eye.

Caleb decided to make a break and walked over to the brink of the field, where he rammed his shovel into the dark brown earth. He took a sip out of his water- bottle, closing his eyes. He was exhausted and a nap surely would be the right thing to do now. So he went over to the edge of the green forest behind his field and lay down to the earth, just to rest his back on a tree- trunk. He was asleep within minutes.

Caleb woke up about half an hour later, shivering. He frowned and opened his eyes. It had been about 25°C as he fell asleep, but now it surely were only about 10°C. He frowned even more as he saw the dark, black clouds covering the sky, had there been a blue sky just some minutes ago. Caleb stood up, slowly and looked around, listening to the noises of his surroundings.

There was… nothing. No bird, no cricket, not one shivering leave- absolutely nothing. He heard the silence in his ears almost louder than the horn of a train or the sounds of the town at night. He felt like in a big bubble of nothing, air hanging thick and heavy around him. He shivered again, the surreal moment left goose bumps on his entire body. He felt as if someone just had walked over his grave and at this thought a jolt of fear crept down his spine.

He walked some steps back to the field- or better to say he tried to…

Caleb never reached his shovel.

Suddenly he felt a presence behind his back, a big shadow fell over his shoulders. He stopped in mid- step, now panic overtook his whole body, leaving nothing but his primal instincts. He knew when he turned around he would die and he knew when he WOULDN´T turn around, he would also die… He just somehow knew, equal what he would do in this very moment, whether he would run, scream, fight, stand still- his days were over.

And there he stood, a young man of 24 years with the end of all his dreams growling hot, wet breath into his back. His last thought were with her, Rose and her beautiful smile as her father said yes to Caleb's question to leave him his daughter for the rest of her life. After that everything went black…

XXX

It was a perfect body! Strong from work on the field, tall, young! It wasn´t as strong as its normal body but it knew when it would lost the scent of the light and energy it would need the ugly puppets as an source of information. It looked down at its new body, smiling an evil grin. It knew from the former owner's soul it had devoured before it overtook his body that his name was Caleb. But that was unimportant! The puppets on two feet always were unimportant, just a thorn in the flesh of its master. It looked around for the upper clothes of its new body. Puppets were so weak, even when it overtook their bodies. Always freezing, weak to feelings, caring- it was unbearable!

And so Caleb's body went away from the island were his dream of life just had ended to follow a light scent of light, energy and love to destroy or to overtake it one day in the future…

XXX

After the playground- back at the Sunny

It hadn´t been such a nice day for Angel how the cook had hoped. It had showed that she actually was a very shy person and that she was at first afraid of the other children. Sanji had asked himself several times were the hell she had it from. He wasn´t shy, he never had been and also the shit- head wasn´t, he was just unfriendly, grumpy and a very private person, but not shy. Maybe she was because she never had seen so many people and other children.

What made both men, Zoro and Sanji concerned at the end of the day was that Angel hadn´t spoken one single word since they had left the playground. She looked somehow sad and tired and also wasn´t hungry in the evening. They let Chopper look after her, but the little reindeer couldn´t find anything. And so, after a long day they finally brought Angel to bed and also went to sleep very early, because she was once more adamant that the cook AND the swordsman had to be with her in one room.

On the next day it hadn´t become better. She didn´t ate properly and was the whole day very quiet and somehow sad, deep in her own world, lost in her thoughts, as she sat with her bigger brother on the figurehead of the Sunny.

"Oi, little ship- girl, tell what´s going on with you. Captains order!" Luffy said. Sanji and Zoro had asked him to ask Angel what was bothering her. After the two men he was the person Angel loved and trusted the most and sometimes, with his own, still childish mind he was able to understand a lot more of her feelings and thoughts than her parents.

Angel looked up to him and decided if she should tell him or not.

At the playground as she finally played with the little boy, she overheard a conversation between two mothers:

**Flashback**

"And he stopped kissing you one year before he left you?"

"Yes, it was the start from the end! After a while we only fought with each other, one time I have broken half of the dishes in our kitchen at his head… Sigh! When your husband stops kissing or touching you and starts fighting it is the end of your relationship! I hate him! And he hates me also, I am sure! But the only victim of this fight is Raya, our daughter… He left us two years ago and we never have heard anything from him anymore…"

**Flashback end**

After that Angel had become very quiet…

Her Daddy and her Mommy NEVER kissed or touched each other… And they always were fighting and the most time SHE was the reason of it! And- if her parents would split up— then the shadow would come again and take her over! She was so afraid to lose or to hurt her family!

All those thoughts, but the thing with the shadow she told her bigger brother…

Well, actually Luffys and Angels logic were almost on the same level… Luffy knew that, when a person liked you, he or she kissed you and would never leave you! Nami had told him so, she always kissed him when they were alone and he really loved it!

So- when Sanji and Zoro would start to kiss each other he thought, they maybe would stop fighting and even if not, Angel still would be eased that they wouldn´t start to hate each other and leave her alone!

So Angel and Luffy decided that the swordsman and the cook had to kiss each other every day, at least "Good morning" or "Good night", so they maybe would get better along with and wouldn´t start to hate each other. Since Nami kissed Luffy every day she had become softer and gentler in his presence, so it surely would also work for his other two crewmembers!

XXX

Galley- after Dinner

Angel and Luffy had asked Sanji and Zoro to stay in the Galley to tell them what was bothering Angel so much. And so Luffy told both men, what was going on and that they had to kiss each other "Good morning or Good night! Captains order!"

Of course, Sanji and Zoro looked as if the captain had asked them to eat a container full of fried spiders!

"No- forget it, rubber- shit! I would NEVER kiss such a shitty, ugly Marimo! Do you know what terrible diseases I could catch from him?" the cook yelled into Luffys direction.

"Hey! Zoro yelled back. You shit- cook! I´m nor ugly and I have no diseases, but maybe I would catch the ´_love- cook- influenca- idiota- completica´ _if I come too close to you! Zoro yelled into the cook's direction…

Of course, as you can figure out, one argument and insult followed the other and in no time they AGAIN fought with each other, spitting, yelling, kicking, slicing and so on and so on. What they didn´t notice was, that the reason of the fight had left the Galley. Not even Luffy had noticed who tried to stop the both idiots. Somehow, since Angel was there and since Nami was attracted to him, he had become even more grown- up and was able to figure out that the two idiots had to stop fighting, for the sake of his little sister.

Angel walked along the deck, tears in her eyes and felt, how the black cloud of pain and fear again welled up from the bottom of her soul to the surface. Suddenly, she heard a low whisper.

Angel looked around- it was already dark outside and only the moon, the pale stars and the lights of the Galley lightened the deck. No one was there, but the shadow, clouding her mind once more. She still was able to hear the fight of her parents… And it was again all HER fault!

Again that whisper, at this time louder. It was, as if someone was calling her. A low, male voice.

_**´Angel… Angel~… Go to the end of the deck!´**_ the voice whispered. Angels eyes clouded, the shadow overtaking her mind completely. She did what she was called to do and went to the end of the deck to the railing. The sea was uneasy today, black waves hit the side of the ship. Angel looked into the dark, cold water underneath.

_**´Come, Angel~´ **_the voice twittered. _**´I´ll make it better! I´ll chase the darkness away! You´ll never be lonely again! You also can find forgiveness… Your soul will never be lonely again! Come, Angel! Here´s no darkness! You will never be lonely! I´ll make it better! Forgiveness… Never lone-´**_

"Angel, what are you doing!!!" Brook shouted behind her.

A firm, cold, boney hand grabbed her from behind and the voice was gone. She stood upon the railing, facing the dark water. Angel jerked back into the arms of the skeleton and started to cry loudly.

Brook felt uncomfortable, holding her in his arms, but he just couldn´t let go. As he saw her, climbing up onto the railing he almost had died again.

He had felt something weird close to her, something dark… It always was present around her, but this time it was different. He slowly started to understand, why he felt uncomfortable. The dark cloud which had surrounded her was always there, always present but even stronger when the cook and the swordsman were fighting seriously. And this time it wasn´t just around her body. He had felt a dark presence somehow… CALLING her!

The little girl in his arms slowly stopped crying, low sobs escaped her throat as she looked up to the skeleton.

"It always thewe when Mommy and Daddy fight! Make them stop!!! Please, uncle! It scawy!" she chocked out between sobs.

Brook lifted her up into his arms and kept silent. So Angel also was afraid of the dark something… That was an interesting information, but surely no one but Robin- san was able to understand what it meant. Angel was no danger, he was sure! Not for the crew, but maybe for herself, when the two idiots in the Galley weren´t able to get along with each other…

As he went to the Galley he saw two sulking squabbles with big bumps on their heads in opposite corners of the Galley and a very with himself pleased Captain, his hands still slightly red and smoking from punching two stupid pigheads!

"Good evening, gentlemen! I´ve found the little Lady upon deck, crying as I have to tell you!"

Sanji and Zoro looked up into their direction. At the sight of a very tired, sad, still crying little girl everything was forgotten as they went over to her. The cook grabbed her out of Brooks's arms and hugged her tight. Zoro caressed her golden- blonde hair and shushed her, trying to comfort Angel. After a while she fell asleep and the second day in a row the cook and the swordsman went to bed very early.

XXX

Three days later

It had become even worse! Angel still was quiet, barely eating and a shadow of her former, happy self. The cook and the swordsman thought she was just sulking, but Nami knew better. She told them that Angel wasn´t a sulking, three and a half year old girl- if she would be she surely would scream and cry and destroy things and punch other persons. But that wasn´t a part of her already very grown- up character... Angel actually was depressed.

And it broke a certain swordsman´s heart to see his little sunshine in this state.

In the middle of the third day Angel watched him again work- out on deck. It was cold today and she was snuggled in a dark- green- yellow blanket (bought by two VERY bruised crewmembers with a long nose and a Cola- tick), sitting on a chair. Her eyes were clouded again, fixed somewhere at the horizon of the clouded sky.

Finally shit- cook and shitty swordsman had been able to jump over their own shadows and had started to talk to each other again for the sake of their daughter. But she still wasn´t better.

Zoro watched her from the corner of his eyes. He had miscounted his push- ups the third time and actually gave up. With a little, sad, sulking girl near him he wasn´t able to concentrate properly, also not with years of self- control. So he stopped his workout, stood up and knelt himself down in front of her.

"Is the fight still bothering you?"

A low nod…

"You still think you are the reason why the cook and I can´t get along with?"

Nod…

"You are still frightened we would leave you alone, when we start to hate each other?"

Nod…

Zoro had talked to the cook three times in the last three days. In the first night he had the same opinion as the cook, he would NEVER kiss the shit- head. But… at the sight of Angel his decision wavered. He had tried three times to convince the cook that a little kiss each day from a guy wouldn´t turn him into a faggot or would contaminate his pride as a man…

And, actually- what WAS so wrong to get a kiss from a guy…? Zoro asked himself. He knew since he was a teenager, that he wasn´t attracted to the fair sex. They sometimes were just too scary, especially the red- heads…

He never had any experiences but a head- job here and there in the corner of a bar with the stronger sex, either… There had been no time, his dream had always been more important to him than love and to talk to another person never had been easy for him… But- if he would fall in love one day, he couldn´t despite the fact that he would prefer a man like the shit- cook… Zoro shivered lightly in disgust over himself at that thought.

He liked strong, feminine, lithe blondes… He always had. The head jobs had always been with a blond man, also before he met the cook. But the first day he saw the idiot he didn´t like him! It made him nervous to have such a straight beauty close to him and he felt always uncomfortable in his presence, somehow afraid one day the bloody idiot would finally understood how Zoro was watching him. But these feelings had subsided with the time he were around the cook and were replaced in disgust, something like hatred and disdain for him to be a slave for his precious Ladies. And so it was also for the swordsman an overcoming to get near the idiot to kiss him…

Zoro looked into two beautiful, sad, half- hidden green- blue eyes.

"And you still think if we kiss each other we will never leave you and stop fighting seriously?"

Nod…

Zoro sighed, deeply from the bottom of his soul and decided…

Angel was worth it!

XXX

Galley- After Dinner

This time Angel AND Zoro hadn´t eaten properly and were now still sitting on the table in the Galley, their half- eaten dish before them. Dinner had already been over half an hour ago and only Luffy, the cook, Angel and Zoro were still in the room. Zoro and Angel because the cook had demanded them to "eat the fucking dish I´ve made you!" And Luffy because he hoped the cook would finally give up and he would be able to catch the leftovers.

The cook stood in front of the sink, deep in his own thoughts. He was concerned about Angel… He never, NEVER could kiss such a shitty, ugly algae! NEVER EVER in his life! He was a Ladies- man, for god´s sake! But… Maybe, and only MAYBE… if Angel still was like this tomorrow evening… He would rethink his decision…

Well, he didn´t know that someone already had taken the decision in his own hands. Sanji turned around to face the idiots and his Honey in his kitchen, saying:

"Oi, Marimo! Bring Angel to bed, I´ll come short after… Luffy, you can have the leftovers." the cook hadn´t even ended his sentence, as Luffy already chewed…

He rolled his eyes, sighed and turned around. Sanji heard the scratch of two chairs and low footsteps on the floor. A call of:

"Oi, crap- cook" let him turn around… The swordsman stood behind him, VERY close, Angel in one of his arms.

"Good night…" was everything Sanji heard, before a pair of soft, warm lips were firmly pressed to his own… The cook tensed and was about to shove the shitty Marimo out of his face, as the bright red man in front of him broke the kiss.

Sanji was short before a mental breakdown. His whole face turned red and he was about to scream at the end of his lungs as a loud call of

"Mommy kissed Daddy!!!! YAAAY!!!" stopped him. Both men looked down to the little girl in the Marimos arms, who was smiling her brightest smile…

Sanji couldn´t help himself but at the sight of the little girl throwing her brightest and biggest smile at them he also started to smile and let it go. For such a beautiful face he would have kissed even Kuma…

Angel, still smiling brightly turned around to face her bigger brother. Also Luffy grinned over his whole face and a low "Shishishi…" escaped his lips. He didn´t dare to laugh any louder because surely Sanji and Zoro would hit him hard for that. But still he gave Angel a ´thumps up´.

XXX

"Family- room"- night

At this night neither Sanji nor Zoro were able to sleep properly. Both men would have wished they could face each other in the bed with their backs, but somehow Angel had managed to snuggle herself into one arm of the swordsman and one arm of the cook… They almost died out of embarrassment, were they actually touching each other's arm... So both men were lost deep in their thoughts.

Sanji thought about the horror of the next day were he had to kiss the stupid, sweaty swordsman again, if he would be unlucky it would actually happen in front of his precious Ladies… Sanji sighed loudly and snuggled himself more into the warm curls on Angels head, once more smelling her wonderful scent… His thoughts again went back to the kiss…

Zoros lips hadn´t been the way he thought they had to be… Hard and cold… No. They had been warm, firm and somehow… familiar… But why familiar? Maybe Angel had the same lips as Zoro…? It had been different than kissing a woman, but Sanji couldn´t despite the fact that it hadn´t been as bad and ugly as he thought…

Zoros thoughts meanwhile went a little more further than the cooks…

Cook- lips Zoro had learned today were warm, firm, sweet and tasted like an all burnt tobacco- plantation… But still- they had been somehow familiar to him… Maybe Angel had the cook's lips…? Also Zoro sighed lowly in frustration and shifted his legs under the blanket.

His lips tickled ever so slightly…

XXX

Caleb

It had felt her! The shadow in her soul had been on the surface once more!

It stirred in its blankets. It had to take a rest on the other side of the island were its puppet had lived. Puppets were so weak! It was annoying! So it went to a house on the edge of a little village at the end of the island and killed the old man who was living in it. His soul had tasted like nothing it had tasted before. It tasted wise, like a strong will, like love and pain, like caring and anger… Like maybe a very good, old red wine would taste for us humans… It again stirred in its blankets; eyes closed, his mind far, far away on the sea…

There! There it was again! The hint of love and hate! The lonely, powerful soul it was searching for! And the soul was trapped in a little girl… _Angel_, that was her name now… It was able to read it in her mind. Maybe he was able to end its job right then and there? Careless puppets! Didn´t they know what they were doing to let the darkness of her soul overtake her?

It tried to call her… Yes, almost… ALMOST! Just one step- and then she suddenly was gone!

Caleb's body shot up out of his blankets, a loud yell of frustration at the end of his lungs leaving his throat- the sound of the yell between his human voice and something not- human- the flower on the table aside him withered immediately by the aura of the man aside her, just leaving a sick- looking, black stem.

But even if it hadn´t been able to end it tonight- now it had a fresh track to follow. And on the end of the track it would find her again and end her life or pull her to its side, to overtake her powers for its master…

And there it also would find the already dead interrupter of its work- and then it would kill him!


	7. Month four

Still not own One Piece, still not making money with this! Hope you like it!

Warnings: Yaoi, language, angst, some stupid blondes…

Pairing: Zoro x Sanji

Please review and be gentle! Reviews are welcome! Thx!

**"Hi! Even if I personally do not like this chapter as much as the others, I hope you´ll still enjoy! Maybe now I start to get a little OOC, but you have to decide this by yourself. I just cannot imagine Sanji being a guy who screams and cries and tries to kill his Captain… You´ll see what I mean when you read the Chapter. I just wanted to finally update so you can see ´yes, she´s still alive!´ Thanks to LunaticV-Losing to de Darkness**** for reading the Chapter and correcting my most stupid mistakes…" AAAAAAND: Thanks to my wonderful beta Princess Darkcloud! Perfect work as always! :)  
**

* * *

**Angel month 4**

They had decided to do ´IT´ in the evening, in their room where the door not only was closed but also LOCKED!

The mockery from the (now officially named) ´rubber-shit´ was already enough! How had their stupid Captain come to the conclusion that Sanji and Zoro wouldn't try to kill each other anymore when they had to kiss each other every day!? (Yes, he was also confident about that, just like Angel- But unlike Angel he was not only about 4 years old, DAMMIT!)

Ok, why Angel came up with the idea Zoro had finally been able to find out. Sanji could still kick himself for going to the playground that day…

And so they stood in front of the bed every evening. Angel looked at them with big, bright, expecting eyes, watching them.

"Good night, Marimo…"

"Good night, Crap- cook…"

A quick peck on the corner of the mouths…

"No, wreally!" she commanded…

A BIG sigh from both men…

A glare of death between them…

A quick kiss upon warm, firm lips…

A beautiful, happy smile from a cute little girl, paired with a big, sloppy and wet kiss on the left cheek of the swordsman and the right cheek of the cook.

Angel was finally able to be left alone for longer than a minute. So now, they had their ´Parent alone time´; two hours all alone where they were able to do whatever they wanted without their little girl. What they did not know, though, was that Robin was checking the shared bedroom every now and then when they were not with the little girl. She did this especially when they started to fight with each other again, but since now there hadn't been any signs of a change in behavior for Angel.

As the door was closed behind the bedroom the swordsman and the cook looked (glared, really) at each other and turned in opposite directions.

"I'll go brush my teeth and disinfect my mouth…"

"I'll go try to destroy my sense of taste with the 70% absinth you bought…"

Well, yes: they _LOVED~_ each other!

XXX

Zoro went up to the crow's nest, back to training. In the last few weeks, since he'd been required to kiss the cook, he was up there training even more as he was before. He trained and trained, doing reps, lifting weights until he almost fell unconscious!

And it was not because he was pissed about the kisses…

It was more because he was PUZZLED because of the kisses…

They didn't feel all THAT bad…

But- didn't he HATE the idiot? Shouldn't he be disgusted…? Where was the disdain he'd felt for the cook ever since he first saw him swooning over the girls…?

Well all of that went overboard with the first touch of those warm lips. The swordsman only wasn't aware of the fact.

So he stood in the crow's nest, lifting his barbells and between rep 790 and 791 he absentmindedly licked his lightly tickling lips…

XXX

**Kitchen**

Sanji was sitting on the kitchen table, enjoying his ´Parent alone time´ with his 12th cigarette.

And… Sanji actually WAS pissed about the kisses…

Because he was also puzzled…

Sanji was straight. He always had been…

… …

… … …

Ok, maybe not THAT straight…

He sometimes _WAS_ able to admit when a guy was good-looking…

´_Just like the Mari… Ew, shut it IDIOT!´_ he thought.

The cook had to admit that the kiss wasn't all THAT ugly… And that the company of his green-haired Nakama maybe wasn't THAT annoying, when Angel was around him. Sanji had never seen the swordsman that… how should he say it… Calm? Not frowning all the time?

… Content with the world…?

Actually he could be pretty funny when he tried to amuse the little girl. One time he had even allowed to let Angel paint his face with some paint Usopp gave her for drawing. It had been too hilarious; he had looked like an idiot! A big, ugly idiot with yellow flowers, green hearts and a big, pink sun around his left eye… He had also painted Angels face with several Japanese signs like love, trust, and peace, all the while smiling a big, happy, satisfied smile…

Until the Marines attacked…

After that, in the middle of the fight, he jumped into the ocean on purpose to get rid of the paintings because he hadn't been able to kill one single Marine- they all practically DIED from laughter before he even had been able to attack them.

As Sanji remembered that day, only one week ago, he chuckled lightly and shook his head. He still hadn't been able to figure out why the Marimo had accepted their "Honey" without hesitation…

XXX

**One week later- Galley**

Ok, NOW Zoro was pissed!

At BOTH of his blondes!!

At both of his STUPID blondes!!!

… At both of his stupid, ILL blondes!!!!

Yes, HIS and BOTH, because he not only had to deal with a sick girl but also with a sick ero-cook!

**_Flashback_**

Yesterday Sanji AND Angel had both been very quiet throughout the whole day. And now Zoro finally found out why:

This morning he awoke as a low groan startled him. As he looked to the side he got a glimpse of the cook who, normally, would have already been up about half an hour ago to start breakfast. But not today.

Because, today he was still lying in bed, eyes tight shut, groaning as a hallucinated nightmare tortured his 39.5°C hot, feverish brain. He was tossing and turning, all the while mumbling something about pain, pirates, and "Please, don't… Please, I won't do it again… Don't hit me…"

After some moments of shocked silence, Zoro propped himself up onto his elbows and reached a hand out to put it upon to the sweat-slicked, seemingly gray forehead of his Nakama.

"Hot…!" he murmured as another groan reached his ears. This time the groan came from between the two of them.

Angel was still sleeping between them, even if the bed started to become just the slightest bit too narrow for them and Angel. Soon she would have to sleep in the bed beside Sanji and Zoro's…

Angel looked up at him with feverish eyes as she coughed.

"What's up with Daddy?" she asked with a hoarse voice.

Zoro frowned and put his hand upon her forehead, too. It was as hot as the cook's. His gaze darkened.

"How long have you been sick, Angel?" he asked in a low, dark, and serious voice.

She looked up at him as if he just had caught her with her fingers in the jam jar. (He actually had two weeks ago. After that, she hadn't been allowed to eat jam for about a whole week.)

"But… Angel not sick," she mumbled. "Angel is fine. Angel-"

"No, you're NOT fine! You're ill, just like the dart-brow beside us! So, since when?"

"…! … … Since…"she coughed again.

"_Since~…?_"

"… Since… Yestewday…? … Mowning…?" she mumbled almost inaudible, looking down onto the suddenly very interesting mattress. She knew the look her Mommy was wearing right now. It meant trouble. BIIIG trouble!

"Since yesterday morning?! Why didn't you say anything?!?" he barked out as Angel jerked back.

"It wasn't bad…" she mumbled again, drawing circles with her left index finger into the more and more interesting bed sheet.

"Not_ bad_?!?" he almost yelled. "WHY. DIDN´T. YOU. SAY. ANYTHING?!"

"Oi, Marimo… *_Cough*_ Don't yell at her!" Sanji said hoarsely, too. A feverish blue eye practically stabbed the swordsman.

"_You!_" Zoro glared at the man aside him. "You of all people, just shut up! You are no better than she is! You've been ill, too, since yesterday, haven't you?!"

A light, embarrassed blush crept into the cooks feverish face. The blush and the look of guilt in the man's visible eye was enough of an answer for the swordsman. He groaned in dismay.

_´Now we've got two idiot- blondes who cannot admit to needing help when they're sick...´_

He then sighed and looked back down into Angel's feverish face.

"I'll go, wake Chopper." He said.

"I'll go start breakfast and make some tea for you, Honey. The Ladies also shouldn't stay hungry all too long." Sanji mumbled and tried to stand up as an iron, almost painful, grip held him back.

"You are going nowhere, shit-cook! You are as sick as Angel is and you have to get better just like she has to!" the green-haired man beside him commanded.

"But, I feel fine, I'm not that-"

Suddenly, Zoro's face was VERY close to his own as the swordsman with a grave voice hissed:

"I won't let you be any more of a bad example to Angel as you've already been! It's enough if one of you cannot admit needing help! It could become dangerous for her; she's not as strong as you are! So, you'll stay in bed until Chopper tells you that it is ok to get up again or I swear I'll tie your sorry ass onto the kitchen table and give Luffy the fridge combination!"

The cook gulped.

"You wouldn't! Y-you can't, you haven't-"

"7-3-5-6."

Sanji now would have been able to complain; to give examples of Zoro, who got back to training just 3 days after Thriller-Bark… But somehow, the evil, all-too-serious look in the swordsman's face and the NOW painful grip on his shoulder told the cook to shut up and fall back into the bed sheets.

**_Flashback end_**

Zoro stood in front of the counter, placing the cups and the teapot on a tray before picking it up and walking back to the bedroom where Angel and the cook were lying together in their bed.

Chopper had diagnosed the feverish cold Robin and Luffy had been suffering through 3 days ago.

Zoro put the tray down onto the mattress carefully and poured both of his blondes some tea. Sanji was more sitting than lying in bed with several pillows supporting his back. Angel sat between his legs, back to chest with the cook. Chopper sat beside the two of them on the other side of the mattress. In front of the bed stood "the great Captain Usopp" with his cape floating around his shoulders.

"Ok, Angel, now I'll tell you the true story of my great-grandfather, who was actually the commander of the biggest and strongest army of mermaids under the sea! Yes, I am also ¼ a merman and am proud to be able to say that my great-grandfather rescued the beautiful princess Angelica out of the claws of one of the most fearful monsters that ever lived down in the sea."

Zoro looked at the sniper with an expressionless face. When he heard Sanji snicker, he looked over at the cook. As their gazes met, the cook smirked and rolled his eyes. Zoro chuckled and settled down on the mattress beside Angel and Sanji. Angel and Chopper watched "the great Captain Usopp" with big, sparkling eyes as the sniper started spinning his tale with big, dramatic gestures.

"Once upon a time, a beautiful, young mermaid lived deep, deep down in the sea. But not any ordinary sea, no! She used to live in the deepest, bluest part of the sea in existence. In this part of the sea also lived every sort of fish on this planet."

Sanji quirked his visible eyebrow but kept silent.

The "Great Captain Usopp" now went forth in his tale of a beautiful young mermaid, called Angelica. She lived together with her beautiful green-haired mother Zorea (which actually got him a deep, dangerous growl from a certain swordsman and a low snicker from a very pleased cook) and her cooking-crazed father Sanjellos (growl from the cook, snicker from the swordsman) in a big, pale blue and silver castle deep down in the bluest sea.

Usopp told them about the big, scary sea-monkey that fell in love with the beautiful mermaid and finally kidnapped her out of the safe lap of her home. As he reached the part of the crying and begging parents who fell upon their flossy knees in front of his great-grandfather and begged him to rescue their beloved daughter because they actually were just too weak, both, Sanji and Zoro let out a deep, dangerous growl which earned them a sweat-drop from the sharpshooter and a giggle from their daughter.

Zoro was soon bored with the childish story and started to look around the room, seriously considering whether it would be more constructive to go up to the crows-nest and lift some of his weights. As he turned his head to his left, his eyes froze on the spot and widened slightly as a light blush crept up his face.

He had caught the sight of the cook, sitting in the light of the afternoon sun that fell through the small porthole on the right side of their room. His golden, shining hair clung slightly to his sweaty temple as a heaven-blue, feverish eye watched the man in front of the bed. The cook snuggled his nose into the golden-blond hair of the girl sitting between his legs as he inhaled deeply and closed his eye. He then exhaled a satisfied sigh into the hair, smiling the most beautiful smile Zoro had ever seen…

´_Ok! Training! Perfect!´_ the swordsman thought, jumping out of the bed, startling everyone as he practically fled the room.

The green-haired man had always been able to admit it right from the start, when he had first met the cook back at the Baratie, even if he would NEVER say it out loud:

_´Shitty, perverted aho cook! Just too damn beautiful!´_

XXX

**Three days later – deck**

Sanji hadn't been prepared. Somehow he already had known, there had been signs, but still… The cook hadn't been prepared…

The first day he had been allowed to leave the bed again after the feverish cold, he walked, alone, up onto the deck. It was evening, and he wanted to spend his 10 minutes of free time with a full pack of cigs and the sunset. So he walked to the left side of the railing, lit a cig, and was about to lean back against the railing when he heard a low giggle. Sanji looked up the stairs to his right; he immediately lost his cigarette. There, in the last rays of sunlight, stood his beautiful Nami-swan and his rubber-shit Captain. Well, nothing unusual… If it weren't for the fact that his rubber-shit Captain was trying to kiss the life-light out of the red-haired navigator, and that Nami actually seemed to be enjoying it. Sanji watched the couple for one more minute before Nami unknowingly broke the last piece of the cook's heart that had survived the consensual kiss.

"I love you too, Luffy" she smiled, blushed, and kissed him again.

XXX

Two hours later the swordsman and the cook brought Angel to bed. Once again Sanji had to kiss the green-haired man. Sanji had always responded to the kiss; he had kissed back, even if you had been able to see that it was more than forced. But this time the cook just held his head in place, the kiss was completely from the swordsman's side. It was as if he wasn't kissing actually the cook, but a soulless doll. Zoro pulled back and looked concerned to the cook's face, but he had already turned his full attention to the little girl sitting in their bed.

"Good night, Honey" he said as he gave her a quick, warm kiss on her forehead. After that, he left the room without hesitation. Normally they would have left the room together, spitting insults of how disgusting it was to have to kiss the other person…

Zoro and Angel looked after him in puzzled surprise. Angel then looked up to Zoro and asked in a grave, all too serious voice:

"Did Mommy tease Daddy again…?"

Zoro looked down to the little girl and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't remember torturing the cook that much today. It had been a normal day of annoying insults, torturing the cook by underestimating his cooking skills and they had just physically fought once and even that had just been a release of steam…

"Sleep now. I'll go see what's up with him…" he said and leaned over to give his little girl her goodnight kiss.

XXX

Sanji sat in his Galley with lights turned off and smoked his 3rd cigarette in about 15 minutes. His look was unfocused as he sat on the table, questioning his whole existence.

Nami was unreachable now…Forever…He wouldn't try to interrupt the relationship with his Captain… If she really loved him and was happy (like how it looked) Sanji was also happy… Somehow… He loved her too much to destroy her luck. If she was happy with the rubber-shit it was going to be ok for him…

He snubbed the half-smoked cig in the ashtray beside him and took a new cig out of the pack. He already felt the nausea spreading in his stomach from smoking too many cigs far too fast!

So he looked at it and just placed the unlit cancer-stick between his lips. He then placed both of his elbows onto the table and grabbed the hair on the back of his head, facing the surface of the table.

He wouldn't cry… He WOULDN´T!

He had already known somehow… And… It was okay… Luffy was a good guy and far too innocent and honest to ever hurt the navigator… But still…

A silent tear made its way down his face from his right eye. His left side started to hurt again. He'd had too much emotional stress in the last few weeks: kissing the idiot and watching the growing relationship between Nami and Luffy; Luffy practically snatching the red-head away from Sanji right in front of him… And the kiss with the Marimo…It was all so wrong! Sanji was always loyal to the ones he loved… And Sanji was in love with Nami, wasn't he? To have to kiss the swordsman felt so wrong… It also wasn't fair to Angel… Playing some stupid game in front of her, playing the healthy, happy family they never had been was just SO wrong! The idiot Marimo would never become his lover… Sanji was VERY aware of the fact that the swordsman hated him… Always picking up fights, torturing him, laughing at him, underestimating his cooking, and never caring for him but for everyone else in the crew… And Sanji was also straight, dammit! He didn't want to have a daughter and a HUSBAND! Sanji wanted to have a daughter and a WIFE… Someone who cared… Someone you could trust your life to, someone who would be there for you when life fucked you up again…

Suddenly the door to the Galley opened silently. After a short moment the light switch was turned on as the lights in the Galley came back to life. Sanji didn't look up. He already knew by the heavy footsteps entering the room who was the person now shutting the door behind him.

´_Of course it is the idiot-Marimo! Who else? Always right where he has to be at the right time… Just right in time to see me crying… He will never going to let me hear the end of it… Shit! Why does it have to be him of all people finding me like this? He will laugh his ass off and call me drama queen or something…´_

"What do you want, Marimo?" Sanji asked, his voice just the slightest broken, his head still in his hands.

Zoro said nothing, just looked down to the cook. After some minutes of silence he walked past the cook to the rack with the booze and grabbed a high-percentage whiskey out of it.

´_Of course booze, what else…? Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll just leave immediately…´_

To Sanji's surprise, he heard how the swordsman opened the cabinet, closing it short after again. Suddenly a loud ´Tuck´ was to be heard, as the swordsman placed two whiskey-glasses in front of the cook. As the swordsman settled himself down on the other side of the table, facing the cook he opened the bottle of alcohol and poured both of them a good amount of the light brown, clear liquid.

After that: nothing… Not word was spoken, the swordsman just sat there, not even taking a sip of his own glass of alcohol.

Sanji finally looked up to the man sitting across him. Zoro just sat there, staring at him. Sanji looked down at the glass of alcohol. As he grabbed it, the swordsman also lifted his glass just to raise it into his direction with a low nod of his head.

The alcohol stung in the cook's throat, this really was some stuff the swordsman had chosen. As he placed the glass back onto the table Zoro poured both of them another glass.

About twenty minutes of comfortable silence went by as four glasses of alcohol went down their throats. Sanji, already started to feel light-headed, finally looked into the swordsman's face again. It was… nice, sharing such a moment of comfortable silence just between men… No word was spoken and it was ok, no need for a forced small-talk…

But Sanji finally had to break the silence…

"What do you want, Marimo…" he repeated.

"Are you angry at me…?"

"Huh?"

"You just stormed off after… You know… And… It was as if I had to kiss a doll or a corpse and not a human being that hates being kissed by me… Normally you would bitch around shortly before and shortly after, but today… Even Angel noticed and asked me what I did, so… Are you angry on me…?"

Sanji looked into his eyes, somehow puzzled when suddenly a red-hot hand of anger grabbed his heart. Of course the Marimo didn't care about him, but for Angel, who would be sad if the two of them were fighting again… Of course Sanji wasn't jealous of their daughter, how could he be? But the cook had thought just for the shortest moment that maybe one of his Nakama would finally care…

"The world doesn't always revolve around you, shitty Marimo! You didn't do anything! I would never be like-like THIS because of _you_!" Sanji spat back.

The sudden rise of hot temper of the cook made Zoro very alert and careful. He didn't wanted to pick up a fight right now, if he did, it could end bitterly for both of them. He could already feel the anger and pain the cook was going through in the air.

And suddenly something inside the swordsman's head clicked…

"Nami…" Zoro just said.

The first mate had seen his Captain and the Navigator making out some days ago in a corner aside the stairs. Zoro hadn't even been aware of the fact that his Captain even KNEW that he had a dick and that Nami hadn't… He was happy for the two of them, they just fit together all too perfect. Nami was always able to calm the Captain's childish temper, and the Captain always able to calm the Navigators Belli-chasing mind… But Zoro hadn't thought it would affect the cook that much…

A long, pained and defeated look crossed the cooks face as he settled himself back down onto the chair on the table just to empty his glass of Whiskey in one strong gulp.

"Yeah, her… And the _´rubber-shit´_" Sanji stated.

"So you REALLY do love her…?" Zoro asked in a low, odd- sounding voice.

"Of course I do! Have your ears been sealed for the last few years?!?" the cook yelled.

"Well, to hear someone confessing his love every three minutes along the day isn't exactly what I would call reliable!" the swordsman shot back.

A foot was shot in his direction as he jumped back out of the chair just to unsheathe his swords. They glared at each other in anger as the cook finally snapped. All the sadness, all the anger and pain of his broken heart was now focused on the man in front of him. They hadn't even fought long but it had already been enough to break three of the chairs as suddenly the door flew wide open and a very furious Robin entered the room, panting heavily.

"Stop fighting!" she yelled as she crossed her arms to produce several arms to stop the two idiots from breaking the Galley.

What no one in this very moment knew was that the short, serious fight had already been enough…

XXX

**Somewhere still far away on a winter- island**

Caleb grinned like a madman as he let his last dead victim fall to the ground of the now empty streets of the little town on the winter Island he had arrived just two days ago. It had been a rich feast of innocent souls. Young, old, intelligent, experienced, wise, and the most of them had been sheltered all their lives along and still had been oh so wonderfully innocent!

There it was again: the little connection between him and his target.

"You really haven't made a very good choice with the two of them, have you, milady?" he giggled.

Now he had to be fast. The connection wasn't all that strong, somewhat one-sided as if one of the two idiot's didn't wanted to fight… So Caleb raised his hand to the dead heart in his chest. As he closed his eyes a dark, a black aura started to surround him. As he then pulled his hand back and opened his eyes there was a little, black, and shining ball in his hand, emitting nothing but a dark light, which absorbed the daylight around it.

"Kill them" was the only thing Caleb said before the little black ball vanished. Just two seconds later the connection was harshly interrupted by an angry, female voice.

"Maybe the choice wasn't as bad as I thought…" Caleb frowned as he turned around to follow the now fresh scent of strawberries, chocolate, and love.

XXX

Meanwhile, on the Sunny, a little, black ball appeared unnoticed up on deck, just to vanish into the depth of the ship. It had to wait until the time was right to attack. Until the green and the blond one weren't as alert as they were right now. It also had to become stronger, bigger by ´_eating_´ the bad feelings of the crew. Pain, hatred, sadness and the feelings of a certain broken heart would make it stronger in no time…

XXX

Sanji and Zoro had finally finished cleaning the Galley of their last _´encounter_´ and had settled back down on the table.

It had been the first time they had seen Robin that furious. She had even gone so far as to yell at the swordsman and the cook to: "Stop fighting, seriously! You don't know what you put Angel through with your stupid, meaningless fights!" They were sitting on their knees in front of her. After they had apologized and promised they wouldn't try to kill each other anymore that night; she told the two of them to clean the Galley. After that, she went out of the room to look after Angel who was still sleeping in their room.

When Robin had entered the room, the little girl was sitting in their bed, crying her eyes out. Robin went over to the bed, hugging the little girl, shushing her, telling her that everything was ok now.

"Make them stop!" she cried. "Make them stop fighting aunt Wrobin!" she sobbed out.

"I can't, Angel- kun… They have to make that out between each other."

"But-but if they don't stop, *hiccup* the dawkness will come back… I don't want it! I don't want them to fight aunt Wrobin! SNIFF! The dawkness will get me!"

"What darkness, Angel- kun?"

"It's cold and dawk when they hate each otha… They awe _not_ made to hate each otha!" Angel again sobbed out and snuggled deeper into the embrace of the raven- haired archeologist.

"They don't hate each other… It'll all become good again… The darkness won't get you… We won't let it happen…" the archeologist cooed and started to rock lightly back and forth, holding the little girl in a tight embrace until she finally stopped crying and fell into a deep sleep.

Whatever it was that the little girl was talking about, she had to find out as fast as possible she thought as a bad feeling of foreseeing grabbed her mind.

XXX

**Back in the Galley**

Sanji and Zoro finally sat again in front of each other and Zoro had poured them another drink. Again the silence between the two of them was comfortable and welcomed but after some minutes the swordsman had the urge to break it.

"You REALLY do love her, don't you…?" he repeated his last question to the cook.

This time the blonde stayed calm and just sighed deeply.

"Yes, I did…"

"Did…?" after that again silence fell over them for some minutes.

"Yeah, did… I-I would NEVER interrupt their relationship, if Nami is happy with our rubber-shit… I am happy as long as she is…"

"… Liar…" Zoro stated calmly.

"Huh?"

"… You are not happy… And you DO still love her, don't you..? I can see it in your eye…"

Sanji leaned the left side of his head into his left hand, his left elbow was on the table. He sighed deeply, trying to force the pain in his left eye and temple away, just like the pain in his chest. The moss-head in front of him was just too damn right… It would need time until he was over with his love for the Navigator… Time he had to take for his feelings to subside into something like friendship or sibling-like feelings for her. Again, a single, silent tear made its way down his right cheek, unnoticed by the man in front of him.

They sat in comfortable silence for one more hour, just drinking the Whiskey the swordsman poured both of them. Sanji appreciated the silence and the calm presence of the man on the other side of the table. He never had thought that the Marimo could be that… Calming… Comforting in his own silent way. It was as if the swordsman knew exactly what the cook needed right now… Just someone who understood his feelings and the need for someone to just sit there; who was just THERE for him…

´_Maybe_´, Sanji thought ´_Maybe ONE of my Nakama finally cares… Even if I never would have thought it would be the shitty Marimo.´ _

After the bottle was empty, they finally decided to go to bed.

As they left the Galley onto the deck Sanji suddenly stopped. Zoro, who was close behind him, almost ran into the cook.

"Oi, shit-head, what the hell?" the swordsman barked.

"… Thank you… I'm feeling better now…" the cook mumbled after a moment and finally started to walk again as the swordsman looked after him, his jaw dropped, with a puzzled expression in his face.

XXX

**Two days later- deck of the Sunny**

Sanji walked out of the Galley with two glasses of fresh Mikan juice in his hands. Luffy and Nami had been a lot more open with their relationship since their kiss on the stairs. Nami sat beside Luffy during the meals; Luffy didn't steal anything from Nami's dish and both of them were touching each other absentmindedly more often: a brush of a hand against a cheek, a touch from shoulder to shoulder… It was just so OBVIOUS that the two of them were together now. Sanji behaved as if nothing had changed… Well, ALMOST. The one and only difference you were able to notice was that the cook didn't swoon around Nami anymore, and also, Robin was, oddly enough, spared from his behaviors now. He was still all 'hearts-in-the-eyes' if one of the women wanted something from him but his declarations of love were completely absent now.

Sanji walked over to the big figurehead where Nami and Luffy were sitting. Nami sat in between Luffy's legs, her back to his chest. Luffy hugged her from behind and nuzzled himself into the crook of her neck, whispering nonsense into her right ear, making her giggle.

A small smile grew on the cook's face, even if it still hurt like hell. He was truly happy for his Nakama now; he had always wished that he could have a relationship something like theirs, and was somehow glad to see that it wasn't such a big and unreachable wish as he had thought… Even if it would never be with his Nami-swan—no, Nami- san…

"Oi, rubber-shit" the cook called out as he reached the figurehead to get his Captains attention.

Luffy and Nami both turned around, immediately something like guilt and sympathy present in their eyes. Both of them knew that the cook didn't get along with the new situation all too well.

"Thought both of you could need a cold drink…"

_I know you love each other… and- it's ok!_

"Thank you, Sanji-kun" Nami said, smiling.

_Thank you, and… I'm sorry…_

"Don't worry about it!"

_I am ok; I'll get over this…_

After their Captain had snatched the drinks and had thanked him with a wide grin on his face Sanji turned around and walked away. He had never before felt that lonely in his life as he looked around on the deck. There they were: all of his Nakama…

Chopper, sitting in front of Usopp who was telling him one of his fairy tales while Brooke was playing one of his songs, matching the stirring parts of the tale with louder and wilder music.

Luffy and Nami, now behind his back, enjoying their drink.

Robin and Franky were on the other side of the ship, sitting under a big sunshade, Robin giggling from time to time, sometimes touching Franky's arm—the flirting was all too obvious.

Angel and Zoro… Zoro, lying with his back against the mast, Angel upon his chest, both fast asleep. Her head stuck under the Marimo's chin. As Sanji passed by she actually snuggled herself even deeper into the sleeping swordsman's embrace as the man sighed, completely satisfied, and hugged her tighter.

Sanji sighed deeply and walked back into his empty Galley. There was nothing to do right now… Everything was clean and he wouldn't need to start Dinner preparations for the next two hours.

The blond man, again, sighed deeply, even more frustrated and settled himself down on his kitchen table, lightening a cigarette.

Sanji knew that if he didn't get himself out of the dark circle of his broken heart he would become depressed. But how? How could he pull himself out of this swamp? Sanji sighed again and put out his now empty cig just to light himself another one, grabbing his hair with his left hand as tight as possible to hold back the tears of his broken heart. He felt so pathetic…

Suddenly the Galley door slammed open and a little, blond whirlwind ran into the Galley, followed by a green-haired, yawning swordsman.

"Daddy, Daddy, _Daddy~_" she yelled as she jumped into the startled cook's lap.

"Ouf…! Ouch! H-Hey, what is it, Honey?" the cook asked, starting to smile again as he put out his cig in the ashtray next to him.

"Can we make crwêpes with stwaberwies for Mommy and the cwew for deserwt today? Can we?!?"

Sanji started to laugh. "Of course we can, Honey, if Mommy will help us!" he grinned devilishly.

The swordsman, who was close to the rack with the alcohol, startled and turned around.

"Huh? W-What? Wait! I-I can't- I-I mean, I've never-"

"I'll show you, Marimo! Or are you not able to do something that a little girl of four years is able to do…?" again that smug grin.

Zoro just growled and cursed the cook under his breath as he caught the gaze of two half-hidden, sparkling, green-blue eyes.

"_Oh~_, not that puppy-look! That's not fair!"

…

Two beautiful blondes, looking at him with two half-hidden, green-blue eyes and one sparkling, light-blue eye…

The swordsman sweat dropped and (to Sanji's amazement) gave up…

"Ok, ok! I'll help…" he snarled.

´_Maybe…´_ Sanji thought as he stood up to follow his daughter to the fridge, followed by a green- haired, pissed-off swordsman _´Maybe I am not as lonely as I thought…´_

XXX

**One week later- Thousand Sunny**

It was time now… The bad feeling of the broken heart had subsided and wasn't as satisfying as it had been one week ago. All of the others were gone and the blond and the green actually weren't as alert as they normally were…

XXX

The crew had made port on a winter island. Robin and Brook had vanished with the desire to get to the big library which was very famous all around the islands in the area of a month long voyage. Sanji, Zoro, and Angel just had finished the shopping for their next trip and were now all alone on the ship, the rest of the crew were enjoying the free time on the winter Island.

This winter island was FAR beyond cold and both blondes had a hard time trying not to freeze right on the spot, so they had decided to watch the ship.

Sanji was in the Galley, preparing some hot cocoa for Angel, Zoro, and himself as an ear-splitting scream made him drop everything he was holding.

XXX

Angel and the swordsman were actually in the crow's nest, where Zoro wanted to show the girl how to meditate… Of course, within minutes, Angel had fallen asleep… The swordsman opened one of his eyes slightly, just as her head fell onto his left leg, had she actually been ´_meditating´_ right next to him, and smiled.

His swords, stupidly, were on the other side of the crow's nest, too far away to reach them when, suddenly, something grabbed him from behind with a cold, painful death-grip. He was only able to shove Angel out of the way just in time so she wouldn't get captured as he suddenly was.

Angel, of course, immediately woke up when the swordsman sent her flying through the crow's nest. Bewildered, she turned her head around and she saw that her Mommy was fighting with a big, black something; something… like a big, black, light-absorbing ameba.

Her eyes widened in horror and she froze on the spot, not able to raise one finger out of shock as the, now, living nightmare she saw every time her parents were fighting seemed to have just become reality in front of her eyes.

"Angel-Angel, my… swor~ds…" the swordsman chocked out as the black thing wrapped itself more and more around him, now painfully pressing the air out of his lungs.

But Angel still was too young, and honestly… What would you have done at her age if suddenly the monster in your closet or the boogieman under your bed was right in front of you, in the safety of your home, in bright daylight, chocking the living daylights out of one of your parents?

The one and only thing Angel was able to do now was to scream like never before…

XXX

About thirty seconds later, which seemed like hours for the cook, Sanji opened the trap door to the crow's nest. When he finally caught the scene of a little, almost scared to death girl and a swordsman who was trying to fight against a black, shapeless shadow, surrounding, no, CHOKING him—he almost fell back down the stairs.

"_H-Help m-me~…" _The swordsman chocked out when he spotted the cook.

´_If the Marimo has gone so far as to ask me for then it must be pretty bad!´_ the cook thought as he jumped into the crow's nest.

As the cook tried to run forward into the direction of the swordsman to kick the ugly thing into the next century suddenly a pair of little arms surrounded his legs.

"No!" Angel sobbed out. "Youwr kicking won't help!" she cried.

And she was right. The swordsman had already tried to get rid of the black ameba-thing by pulling, and ripping violently at the black substance. But all his fighting, kicking, punching, and ripping didn't help anything! The black thing slowly surrounded his body completely, growing even bigger and concluding that the chocked, pained sounds he actually made also slowly strangled him to death.

"_S-Sssss-Sworrrdssss~"_ The man in front of him chocked out the single word as he tried to reach out one of his hands in the direction of the paralyzed cook. But it didn't help! The black substance emitted… SOMETHING, like a dark, disgusting… _CHUCKLE_ that sent cold waves of shivers through both blonde's spines and made Angel whimper in fear, hugging the cook's legs tighter as the black thing sensed its chance to wind itself around the green-haired mans throat. The swordsman immediately pulled his hand back just to reach both of his hands up to the substance surrounding his throat, trying to pull the substance away from it. His whole body, besides his head, was now surrounded completely.

"Marimo!" Sanji yelled now in near panic, he could only watch as the swordsman went blue in the face.

Zoro was at the edge of consciousness as a loud, shredding sound reached his clouded mind and he felt someone throw him across the room. He suddenly found himself in the little girl's tight embrace.

"What the-" was everything Zoro was able to pant out between heavy breaths for the much-needed oxygen as he lifted his head just to be greeted with the sight of the cook's back.

The cook, who was actually holding Wadou in his right hand and Shuusui in his left, surrounded his waist with the back of their blades, crossing his arms in front of his stomach, again, surrounded by flames like the day the Marines attacked their daughter.

Just as Zoro was about to say something more, the blond man in front of them decided to attack the big, black ameba that was now the size of three men. He ran forward, jumping into the air as one of the tentacles of the black thing reached out with inhuman speed. But the cook was even faster. The swordsman wasn't even able to react as his jaw dropped to the floor. He also wasn't aware of the red glimmer in the little girl's eyes.

The cook, now above the creature, started to rotate himself in the air, also with inhuman speed as uncounted flames, that formed in the shape of Katana he held, flew down onto the now screaming creature, slicing into it, cutting its ´flesh´. The creature was starting to become visible. Once the cook stopped his rotations, he landed on the other side of the creature, upon the couch of the crow's nest, just to turn around at lightening speed as the now ´bleeding´ creature tried to reach him again. But the cook was faster as he sliced into the creature with the white sword he held in his right hand.

The swordsman was completely paralyzed. ´_What the hell?!?´_ He thought when he saw the cook waving HIS Katana as if he had never done anything else in his life.

The black creature changed its tactics and backed away from the blond with the sharp weapons that were able to cut through it, to INJURE it. It started its fast pace back towards the swordsman and the frightened little girl.

"Don't you dare touching them!" came the grave voice of the man behind the black creature. The cook jumped off the couch, cutting right through the substance. He jumped through the ameba, parting the black thing, destroying not only the creature, but also the back of the crow's nest in an loud explosion with two flaming blades flying across the room, sending splinters of wood and glass down onto the deck.

Oh my god, if the ameba didn't kill them, Franky would happily do its job!

The cook landed right in front of them. And Zoro was finally able to get a better look into his pale face. There was hatred and anger written into the cook's handsome features.

But his visible eye…In his visible eye was…Nothing. No, that wasn't right. There still was the heavenly-blue iris, but the pupil was somehow…Gone, clouded…

The swordsman still gaped at the sight of the fighting cook who was turning back around to the creature, getting back into his fighting stance, still surrounded by flames. He felt how Kitetsu practically begged him, screamed in his sheath, to get into the fight. But Zoro couldn't help him, his chest was surrounded by the frightened death-grip of a violently shivering girl, who watched the whole fight with increasing horror, tears silently falling down her cheeks, still the red, unnoticed glimmer in her eyes.

Zoro cursed under his breath. He couldn't leave his scared daughter right now; the chef had to win this fight out of his own strength. Just as he had thought this, Sanji cried out in pain when the creature finally landed a strike right into his left shoulder, spearing it underneath the collar- bone.

Angel gasped out when she saw her Daddy get injured by the black creature, immediately loosening her death-grip.

"Go, help Daddy!" she screamed into the swordsman's face and let herself fall onto the ground.

Worries about his daughter were short-lived when Zoro saw how the cook unsuccessfully tried to get rid of the tentacle as a second one reached out to him and ´grabbed´ him around his waist.

Zoro jumped up onto his feet, leaving Angel with uncertain feelings back on the floor.

He grabbed Kitetsu, standing just five feet away in its sheath, still begging to join the fight. As Zoro drew the cursed sword it practically hummed in anticipation. Zoro was in reach of the Chef within two long steps and cut the connection between him and the creature as fast as possible, the now dead tentacle of the creature melted and slid down Sanji's injured shoulder as Zoro also cut the tentacle surrounding his waist. Both men jumped back when the first mate saw a glimpse of something darker pulsating inside the black creature. Its heart perhaps?

"Oi, cook!" he yelled out and pointed onto the pulsating something. "There! Its heart! We have to aim for its heart!"

Zoro didn't know if the words had even reached the cook's mind but the slow nod of the blond head let him hope again.

The swordsman jumped forward, avoiding the reaching tentacles and cut through the black substance, with Kitetsu as he reached his target. Under the parting substance you were now able to see a black light emitting from a big, (maybe as big as a big tangerine) pulsating ball.

Sanji had also jumped in the direction of the ameba, but had landed on the couch behind it, just to jump immediately back into the air, facing the creature with his back as he spun around to face the black creature. He hit the roof of the crow's nest with his feet, catapulting himself down, cutting with Wadou right into the in agonizing, screaming creature's heart, landing in the middle of the now slowly melting substance.

Sanji panted violently as the dead creature melted into little puddles of black slime and finally vanished as if nothing had ever happened. The swordsman still gaped in awe as both of his blondes suddenly fell unconscious.


	8. Month four extra

Still not own One Piece, still not making money with this! Hope you like it!

Warnings: Yaoi, language…

Pairing: Sanji x Zoro

Please review and be gentle! Reviews are welcome! Thx!

**"Hi, just as always in the first version not betaed. I hope you´ll enjoy the story. I had to say something more about month four as I thought, so this is an extra to it. In the next chapter our beloved cook and swordsman will get a little closer… ;)"**

**Month four- part two**

_Winter island- Library, two days before the attack of the shadow_

The library was overwhelming! Unbelievable! A PARADISE to everybody who loved reading, studying, searching; for everyone who loved books. But not at the first sight. At the first sight the library was nothing else than a ratty tall, old building out of big grey bricks, looking as if it would break down every moment. It was attached to a small mountain, which surrounded about ¾ of the building. Also the lobby they entered into through a heavy iron door wasn´t as glamorous as Robin would have thought. It was nothing more than a small, white room with a very high ceiling, about 15 or more meters.

As Robin and the skeleton entered the room which led to the library they didn´t get anything more than a measuring look from the secretary at the desk standing in the middle of it. The old woman looked at her, then at Brook, up and down his white, pale bones.

"Devils fruit?" she asked curious, not the slightest afraid of a ´walking/talking´ skeleton with an afro.

"Yup." was Brooks only response.

"I see. What are you searching for?"

"I am sorry to ask but why is that of your business?" Robin asked, her voice polite and emotionless.

"Because you will not be able to find anything without help and it is also not allowed to anyone to wander around in the library all alone. You can easily get lost in these holy halls. And… As to infer from your wanted- posters I intend your researches to be as fast and as inconspicuous as possible… I suppose…?"

The archeologist just smiled politely and bowed her head.

"Then we would like to search for a very old language which I am not able to translate without help." She then showed the old woman the copy of the text from the treasure- chest. "I am also searching for information about an old treasure-chest which had pictures of a war between demons, angels and a big, black shadow engraved on it."

Again: "…I see… I think Immanuel will be able to help you." she said, her eyes flickering just the slightest but not unnoticed by Robin and Brook.

The secretary then reached under her desk with her right hand, after that she went back to whatever work she had done before the archeologist and the skeleton had entered. Round about 5 minutes later an old wooden door behind the desk opened and a young man about maybe Chopper´s age entered the room. He had dark blue hair, dark skin, was about 1.75 m tall and VERY lean. ´_If cook- san would be here right now he surely would have had the urge to feed him_´ Robin thought and just slightly raised an eyebrow at the sight of the young teen.

"He is not as useless as you may think now." the secretary answered Robins look, not even raising her head. After that she told the boy what the pirates were searching for as Robin showed him the copy of the text.

"I see…" seemed to be a very popular phrase in these ´holy halls´…

After everything was clear they were led through the door behind the desk. They entered a long corridor from which several doors leaded to other rooms. This corridor seemed to be older than the waiting room in front of the library. Lanterns were mixed with flambeaus at the walls. The whole corridor was made out of big, old, grey stones, though it was several times broken by newer looking red bricks, at some points it had been even whitened. The smell of mold mixed with dampness and another scent, like burned stone and paper raised both of their nostrils, though skeletons not even have nostrils SKULL JOKE! (A bad one, I know XP)…

They had been walking for about 2 minutes as the way in front of them parted into three different directions. They went the left way and after several more minutes, two other directions and four iron stairs, leading them even deeper into the depth of the building, they finally arrived an old, black wooden door with heavy, iron fittings and carvings in it. Immanuel now turned around to face them.

"We now are in the oldest part of the library." he stated. "I thought about your request since we walked down to this part. But I still cannot tell you if I am able to help you… The text you´ve showed me is very, VERY old… I somehow recognize the language, though. It could be the old language. The FIRST language, but I don´t know for sure… I´ve just seen a text in a language akin to this one once in my life before…

"This library is one of the oldest which is still existent. It is said that the collection of books and documents once went back for about 10,000 years. Maybe even this collection wouldn´t have helped you… Unfortunately I have to tell you, that about 100 years ago a big explosion and a fire destroyed almost the whole building and also the most of the documents. Several academics also lost their life that day and have taken their knowledge with them to their grave. Some of the older documents had been successfully saved, but it still was a great loss to the whole world… Since this time we protect and hide all of the older documents which lead more than 100 years back, we especially hide them from the world government…" he said, looking at the archeologist with all-too-knowing eyes, betraying the age of his body.

Robin was shocked. She never had thought the world government would go THAT far to hide the real history from the world… It was more than a pity. It was a crime… No, it was…

It was the first time the archeologist was at a loss for words and at the edge of self- control, tears of anger burning in her dark blue eyes as she clutched her hands into fists at the side of her body…

"So, why are you telling us all of this?" Brook asked. "Couldn´t we also be a danger? And… Why not more safety arrangements if these documents and books are that… valuable…?"

"The more ´open´ safety arrangements the more attention." Immanuel stated, matter of factly. "Believe me when I assure you that the documents are safe…" he said with a deep, dark glimmer in his eyes, again looking older and now more dangerous than ever before. There was no doubt about what the boy (?) just had said. "And why I am telling you all of this… Well, lets say we heard some rumors about you, especially about a certain Nico Robin who is trying to find the Porneglyves… I am sorry to tell you that you will not find one at this island, not even a hint. About this point ´they´ had been very thoroughly…"

Immanuel finally turned back to the door and raised his hand, not touching it.

Only now Brook and Robin were able to see that there was no doorknob or a lock at the door. Immanuel closed his eyes and bowed his head as a low click was to be heard, startling both Nakama. The door slowly, quietly swung open as Immanuel entered the room behind…

XXX

_Two days later_

Brook had finally been able to drag Robin out of the library without beating her unconscious. It had been a hell of a lot of work, though. If it hadn´t been for the worry about the well- being of their Nakama Robin surely never would have left the old library. Even if she was searching for a translation of the old treasure chest there were still so many books of the history hundreds and thousands of years back. She didn´t sleep, she didn´t eat and just drank the water the skeleton all but _forced_ down her throat. Robin almost became mental as Brook finally stated that they had to go back to the ship.

As exhausted as she was, without sleep and food, Brook decided to carry her back to the ship: bridal style… Maybe he should let her down before the cook saw them… Black shoe imprints were not easy to polish away from a skull…

As Immanuel had said, there hadn´t been as many information as they had hoped. They had found SOMETHING, though they would tell their Nakama as soon as they got back to the ship…

XXX

_Same time- Infirmary, Thousand Sunny_

Sanji woke up about one hour later after the attack. As he lifted his gaze he was met by a pair of concerned, green eyes and a sleeping girl at his side.

"Ungh… M- My shoulder…" he moaned. "What the fuck happened?"

"You don´t remember?" Zoro asked, concern swung within his voice.

"Just…" Sanji frowned. "Angel screamed, I went up to the crows nest. Then… There was a shadow, surrounding you… After that…" the curled brow furrowed even more as the cook tried to remember what happened afterwards.

"The shadow attacked me. After that you attacked that black-ameba-thing…"

The look on the swordsman face, especially in his eyes now swung between concern, curiosity and… amazement…?

"Since when are you able to use swords? And why did you never tell me?"

"Huh?"

"You really don´t remember, do you? You used Wadou and Shuusui to attack that shadow-ameba-thing. Franky will have your ass for that, you´ve broken a part of the crows nests walls with one of these… Fire-Katana-thing-attack… _How- How did you do that? What WAS that attack? How long did you practice for that? I´ve never seen you use swords other than your big cutting knifes. How the hell did you do that? Who taught you to fight like that? Who was your Sensei? What´s the name of these attacks and the name of the style? Since when-"_

"Whoa, whoa, stop it, Marimo! I get quite a headache here! One question a time!"

The cook had never seen the swordsman that impressed, his eyes glowing with big interest and something else he couldn´t quite put a finger onto right now, watching him. What the fuck had happened? As the swordsman finally had calmed down enough to tell the cook what the hell HAD happened, Sanji remembered slowly. It had been the same feeling like the first time the Marines attacked. The cook had been in panic both times. The sight of the girl in the Marines arm and the sight of the ameba-shadow-thing strangling his Nakama to death made his mind stop, his heart skip a beat just to start beating even faster, painfully against his ribcage. After that his mind had clouded and he had acted out of instinct, as if he just KNEW what he had to do right now.

All of these memories he told the swordsman (everything but the _´heart-skipped-a-beat-just-to-beat-itself-out-of-his-chest-thing´_, OF COURSE!).

The cook was still able to remember the sight of the swordsman, standing in the middle of a circle of blood in a big pile of ruins, soaked in blood, almost dead, falling straight into his arms, unconscious. That had been one of the most worst days in the cooks life and he has had a hard time admitting it to himself, that he never, _NEVER_ wanted to see one of his *CHOKE* best, *SWALLOW* closest friends EVER like that again! So, maybe, MAYBE he had just grabbed Zoros swords out of instinct after his Honey had told him that his own weapons wouldn´t help this time, to protect his Nakama, the (´_Oh my god, I do NOT think this for real!´) _`MOTHER` of his daughter…

A loud, angry call of

"SHIT-SWORDSMAN, SHIT-COOK!!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!? GET YOUR FUCKING ASSES OUTTA HERE! YOU ARE SO DEAD!!!"

pulled them out of their rather confused conversation. They looked into each other´s eyes…

"Uh Oh…"

XXX

Finally Brook and Robin arrived the ship just to find a fuming Franky, an injured cook, a sleeping, little girl, a rather bewildered swordsman and a half blown- up crows nest. An emergency meeting was fast arranged as the cooks injured shoulder was treated by their doctor who had gotten back along with Franky and the rest of the crew.

"…I see…" was one of the phrases which suddenly had become VERY popular at the Red-Line, at least by their archeologist, was she using it several times during the cooks and the swordsmans explanation.

Concerned looks and theories crossed the table in the Galley as suddenly a very tired, blond girl opened the door of the infirmary to the kitchen. Chopper was right behind her, had he just been looking after her since the whole meeting had started. One point had been clear pretty fast: Never leave Angel out of your eyes anymore! Whatever it had been attacking them, it could have met her without anyone around. Angel didn´t seem to remember the whole incident and they would happily leave it at this point, not wanting to scare the child more as they had to do. Maybe the attack of the shadow had been a one-time-thing, then they would scare her for nothing.

It was already 11 pm as the cook and the swordsman grabbed the little girl, not wanting to leave her out of their eyes as they apologized themselves (actually Sanji apologized themselves to the ladies) an went off to bed, the rest of the crew left behind with some sandwiches for supper and their own thoughts.

After Sanji and Zoro had left the kitchen, Robin catched the attention of the rest of the crew, telling them what the skeleton and she had found at the library.

She finally had been able to find out which language it was: It really was the old, the FIRST language ever written down in letters. It was said that they once had been spoken by the people of heaven and the people of hell and, no, Skypea wasn´t meant by that. Unfortunately, they hadn´t found any books to actually translate the rest of the text.

But they had found out something about a war, first between heaven and hell as the earth was still young and the human race nothing more than a slobbering, grunting mess in caves, wrapped in fur. One of the documents said that the war had started even sooner, with a crime no one could describe. Not even god had been able to forgive the crime and finally had, crestfallen, defeated decided to retire, to leave the three dimensions alone to lead themselves into their own doom… Also something had developed out of the crime and the war, something so unbelievable earth- shattering that, once it had been set free to the new, innocent world, not even the lord of heaven and the lord of hell together with all demons and angels had been able to destroy it.

_You cannot kill what wasn´t born _

(A/N: I hope you know what I mean by that, dunno if I use the right phrase…)

one of the documents had said.

But how the war finally had ended and why still was a mystery… There had been missing oh-so-many documents and books, all gone with the fire or thousands and thousands of years ago that they hadn´t been able to get a clear picture. Not even the treasure-chest or the crime itself had been mentioned in details.

As the crew finally asked why Robin and Brook hadn´t said anything in front of the cook and the swordsman, the archeologist answered, that she didn´t wanted to worry them more as she had to do. They already were worried enough about their ´daughter´. The cook was looking skinnier and sicker from day to day and the worry lines between the swordsman´s brows and upon his forehead had become even deeper since the first attack of the Marines, he also was even more quiet than ever before. Maybe everything she had found out was nothing more than a fairy tale, with not even a notch of truth in it and the girl just a gift to, in some odd ways, connected pair of fighting, bitching idiots.

The bond, though, had been mentioned in one of the documents. But _what_ kind of bond seemed to depend upon the involved persons. There was no doubt anymore that the cook, the swordsman and the girl were connected to each other. Maybe just by friendship, maybe also even deeper, a bond of the heart and the soul, but THAT information was far too personal to speak out loud in front of the crew. It was enough to let them know that, when Sanji and Zoro were fighting seriously, the crew had to distract them, because then something happened to Angel, involving a dark shadow clouding her mind.

They finally decided to watch over the little girl more entirely, letting Sanji and Zoro have their own way with each other. The whole crew knew that they were close friends, even if they maybe didn´t realize this by themselves. They had been just fine like the way they were in the last few years they knew each other. The competitions, bets and fights nothing more than sparing, _playing_, letting off some steam at long, boring journeys over the sea. If the crew would push them into a forced friendship this surely would end up in a complete disaster, knowing the two stubborn idiots just all too well. Also to hold them off of each other wouldn´t help…

Because the whole crew also knew another thing all-too-well:

Sanji and Zoro maybe couldn´t life _with_ each other, but even more they couldn´t life _without_ each other!

XXX

Zoro was lying in their bed, facing the cook and the girl between them, still awake. It was in the middle of the night, about one or two o´clock in the morning. The heaven in front of the porthole was dark and clear, thousands of stars shining down at the Thousand Sunny together with a full moon. Bright rays of cold, silver moonlight were shining through the small porthole, bathing the two blond, sleeping figures beside him in his pale light.

It was one of the few nights in his life the swordsman wasn´t able to sleep, was his mind just racing, playing the day over and over like an old film or a melody you just can´t get out of your head.

And it all led always back to the fight of the shit-cook and the shadow. He was concerned it might happen again, yes, but that wasn´t what led his attention back again and again to the fight in the crow´s nest.

**A small, lean waistline surrounded by his swords as powerful legs catapulted the body they belonged to right into the direction of the enemy. A strong slash, followed by swords of fire, smashing a good part of the walls into thousands and thousands of tiny, little pieces.**

**A bead of sweat running down this long, slender, pale neck as he tried not only to protect his daughter, but also Zoro himself.**

´_I am not falling for the bastard. I am NOT falling for the bastard. I am not FALLING for the bastard. I am not falling for the BASTARD.´_

**The panic and worries clearly written in the heavenly blue eye as he tried to attack the ameba for the first time; at the sight of him, captured by the ameba, not even thinking about his own health… Just like the day back at Thriller Bark as the cook had offered to give his life for no one else but HIM! Not for Nami, not for Robin, not for his Captain, no- for ´**_**the-shitty-Marimo´**_** and for no one else…**

´_Iamnotfallingforthebastard! Iamnotfallingforthebastard! Iamnotfallingforthebastard!´_

Sanji stirred in his sleep and turned around onto his back, heaving a deep sigh in his sleep, mumbling something about "Get outta the way, Marimo…", the rays of moonlight playing with golden streaks of hair. It looked like liquid silver and gold, running down a beautiful, angelic face.

Zoro merely grunted and turned around…

´_I am falling for the bastard…´_


End file.
